


Unexpected Love

by mbmatthews1



Category: Transformers - All Media Types
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-06-14
Updated: 2014-06-23
Packaged: 2018-02-04 13:48:58
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Major Character Death, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 11
Words: 36,116
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1781302
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mbmatthews1/pseuds/mbmatthews1
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Megatron has won and now humans and Autobots are slaves to the Cons'. But Megatron isn't happy and is haunted by a brown eyed human who died many years ago. He finds another slave who looks like that human, and his existence will never be the same</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The trials and tribulations of new pets

**Author's Note:**

> If you have read Prometheus, you will see a flavor of that story here, as I used this background for that story with permission. In going back to reread this story in the hope that it was continued, I noted it was up for adoption and a plot bunny promptly sank its teeth into my oversized rear end. However, with Mrs Bumblebee's permission, I have revised her story; her revised chapters are in the first two chapters.
> 
> This story, unlike my others, is mature, but it is not explicit. If you do not like that idea, go read something else.
> 
> I do not own Transformers and I am jealous of the ones who do.

Of all the things he'd expected to happen when he took over Earth, Megatron never thought one of them would be boredom. During his short periods of awareness when the humans kept him frozen, he planned to turn Earth into another Cybertron and get revenge on the humans, but never, NEVER did he think it would actually get boring.

He sighed, leaning back into his chair. Two vorns since he defeated the Autobots, and took over Earth. He'd enslaved the humans and broken their spirits. Now they were domestic animals, purged once they outlived their usefulness. They worked in the factories, they worked in the mines, they made energon (under close supervision of course), they farmed for their food, and they bred to keep the population up. By this time they knew no other life. He was proud of his accomplishments.

He held on to only one regret, a life snuffed out when he had no intention to destroy it. Every time he recharged, he could still see that face, how the human boy fell down, down, down, until he hit Optimus Prime's hand. He remembered the loud CRACK, and how he coughed up blood, twitching madly until those brown eyes closed for the last time…

Megatron sometimes wondered why he felt guilty over Samuel Witwicky's death. Maybe it was because he never wanted to kill the boy, only tame him. Maybe it was because he was an innocent, still a youngling when he died. Maybe it was the way his eyes had locked onto the Decepticon leader's in his last moments, empty of any emotion and filled with the agony of death. It might even because he had seen something of himself in him, an innocence he had lost long ago. He sighed. It didn't matter anymore, he supposed. The boy was dead, and no human could come back to life. 

A small notice popped up from the slavemaster. The new batch of human slaves arrived. He sighed.These young humans always reminded him of the boy, but he supposed it would give him something different to do. He headed towards the slave quarters, still intent on his thoughts.He amused himself for a few moments thinking of how the boy might react to humanity's current situation . He'd rant and rave and curse, anger filling those pretty brown eyes until he could entertain the thought of them turning pure red. He hardly noticed he arrived until he heard the slavemaster's voice threatening the slaves to be on their best behavior, or else.

He entered, fully aware of how every human eyes focused upon him. He nodded to the slavemaster, before scanning over the slaves. It was a good crop, he thought, strong and healthy. They'd been cleaned recently, with their hair still wet. Eyes of every color watched him, careful to never meet his optics, like well-trained slaves. Some even seemed ashamed of their ill-fitting, dirty clothes. He observed them, barely registering the words of the slavemaster, who was rambling on about how they were bred, who their creators were, what they were best suited for, how one of them had appeared out of nowhere-Wait. What?

"What was that, Helix?" he asked, turning back to the yellow mech. Helix nodded.

"One of them showed up out of nowhere, sir. No one knows who his creators are; they aren't in the breeding list. He was picked up in the middle of nowhere. He's a good slave and does his job like he was bred to do it the way the others are. He's the one with the white hair."

White hair? Odd… no humans lived long enough to get white hair these days. He scanned the crowd, searching for anyone old enough to have white hair. As if sensing the scan, one boy looked up, against all the rules of slave behavior. Brown eyes locked onto his red optics. Megatron froze. It… couldn't be… There was no way it could be…The white haired boy possessed the face of Samuel Witwicky. He looked the same age, had the same lanky teenaged body, the same frightened eyes, the same defiant ways. There was no way it could be the boy! Megatron witnessed his painful death.

He was jarred out of his shock when he heard Helix's voice snap. "You dare look at our master? You ungrateful piece of slag, I'll show you your place!" Megatron saw the whip lash toward the white-haired boy. Without thinking he reached out and caught the whip just before it hit

"Don't interrupt my thoughts, "he snarled at the slavemaster. His soft voice held danger, a danger Helix heard with no problem at all. He froze. Finally Megatron turned away from the human boy, locking their optics. "Did I look like I wanted interference?" His voice changed; it remained tense, but calmer, full of the promise of pain and suffering for the person who dared challenge him. Backing up, Helix apologized profusely, before Megatron silenced him with a look. "You are fortunate that you are useful to me," he said, releasing the slavemaster's whip from his grasp. "I find this slave interesting. I am claiming him for my own use." Stepping forward, Megatron picked the startled human boy up, and left the slave quarters, heading for his office.

Once there, he set the boy down on his desk and sat down in his chair. Leaning back in his seat, he viewed the human calmly. "Tell me Sam… How did you survive for this long?" Then he felt foolish. This boy could only look like the youngling that died in Optimus Prime's hand.The human boy on his desk froze, head whipping up to look at him before looking away, his face registering only the usual slave blandness, but his eyes… Megatron could see the shock in them, the horror and terror. The sight made him frown in displeasure. "If I wanted you hurt, I would have let Helix administer his discipline." The white-haired boy hunched his shoulders, and Megatron wondered how often this not-Sam felt the whip before. "All I want is some answers."

The fear faded slowly, replaced by suspicion. The boy's lower lip jutted out into an almost cute, confused pout, and his brown eyes narrowed, but the boy said nothing. "Are you intentionally trying to provoke me, human?" Megatron asked, almost amused at his new toy's reluctance to speak. "I can wait as long I need to for explanations, you know." The boy flinched and looked away, his face full of pain. Megatron paused, before reaching out and forcing the human to look back at him with one finger. The Decepticon leader was suddenly aware of how soft his skin was, metal smooth and lacking any physical imperfections.  
"I'm going to ask these questions until you answer, little one, " he whispered, trying to be soothing, "I'm not going to hurt you. I just want answers." The human boy bit his lip so hard Megatron thought it would bleed. With two trembling fingers Sam reached up and touched his throat, without uttering a word. The beginnings of annoyance were filtering through Megatron's system; he wanted to talk to him, not cower from him. "Come on now, talk to me here. I need you to talk to me." Megatron scowled as the boy jerked his head out of his grasp, throwing himself onto his back.

The moment he landed, Megatron's optics widened. He saw something on the boy's throat, something that chilled him to his spark. He picked the human boy up, running scans on him. Who would be cruel enough to do that to a human? But the scan came back positive. "Who did this to you? Who removed your vocalizer?" he asked, his voice tight with annoyance and frustration.Sam still refused to look at Megatron. The Decepticon leader noticed a slight shiver in the boy's shoulders. Fearing he had frightened or hurt him by accident, he gently placed the boy back down on to the desk and gently stroked his back. The boy leaned into Megatron's hand, taking comfort from the warm metal. Megatron reached out a finger and gently forced him to look up. The boy leaked from the eyes, an emotional release that clearly shamed him. He pulled his head free as though he did not want Megatron to see.

Megatron's optics softened. Gently he picked the human boy up resting him against his chest, stroking his back. The boy's weeping escalated to wheezing and choked sobs. Hearing those sounds hurt Megatron to the core. He offered what comfort he could, speaking in a hushed tone. 'Shhh, now. You're mine now, like the one I would have taken long ago. I'll take care of you. You're safe with me. " The boy's weeping soon dropped to chocked hiccups and sniffling. Megatron felt those tiny human hands clutched onto his chest armor as if he was afraid that if he let go Megatron would disappear into thin air. Another half hour went by before he quieted. Megatron looked down to see that his new pet cried himself to sleep, exhausted by emotion.

Megatron walked over to his berth to lay the boy on a pillow, covering him before leaving the room. He needed to make arrangements for organic care. He also planned another means to gain information from his mute pet. When he returned, the boy still slept. His new master rubbed his back to wake him. The boy jerked awake and stared round him, visible wondering where he was. Megatron chuckled at the sight and the little one whirled to look at him. "Come on, pet, get up. I'm taking you to see Soundwave; you still need to answer my questions." Megatron said and picked the boy up. Cradling his new possession, Megatron walked down the hallway, moving him to his chest when he started nodding off again. The boy gave Megatron a puzzled look, but after being ignored, he leaned his head on Megatron's chest armor and relaxed until Megatron stopped in front of a door to someone's quarters and knocked.

No answer came but the door opened. Accepting the invitation, Megatron stepped into the room. The click of the closing door rang in the quiet. Megatron brightened his optics to see into the dark to find the one mech. "Soundwave," Megatron said calmly. The boy looked up to see a dark figure emerge from the shadows into the light. Soundwave was black and blue, a head shorter than Megaton. He wore a visor and a face mask to hide all his facial expressions. The sight of the hidden features made the pet shiver. Megatron gently stroked his head in reassurance. " Soundwave is my most loyal soldier and will not harm you," he murmured in reassurance. The boy pressed his face into the warm metal of Megatron's chest. "Soundwave, I have need of your assistance. " Megatron could see his third in command tense. "I want information from my new human." The boy clutched at Megatron when Soundwave looked at him.

"How may I assist you, my lord?" Soundwave asked in his emotionless voice. It sounded so smooth and alien that it sent shivers running down Sam's spine. Megatron stroked him gently.

'My new pet is mute. I want to know who removed his vocalizer, and where he came from. Helix said that he appeared from nowhere, and they threw him in with the rest of the younglings."

Soundwave was silent for a moment. Then, he spoke. His voice, melodious yet cold, sent chills up Sam's spine. "Respectfully speaking, sir, but why care about this slave so much?" At least Soundwave remained courteous enough to not call him a flesh-bag. That was one point in his favor.

"That is none of your concern." Megatron snapped. "Do it."

Sam heard the masters talking and huddled against Megatron's warm metal. When Megatron removed him from the slave camp, speaking gently to him, acting like he cared, Sam felt overwhelmed at the offer of safety. Now he was terrified. Megatron's voice held a threat in it, unspoken yet acknowledged. It was a cold reminder of the truth- This was still Megatron, conqueror of Earth, the bane of the Autobot's existence and his murderer. He could not be trusted. He was a monster.

Sam was going to be found out. After all this time, he was going to end up in some Decepticon lab, being tested, in pain over and over again-panic raced through him.The strange Decepticon in front of him made an odd noise, like someone was grating a rock against the inside of a CD player. It wasn't a pleasant sound. The blue robot took a step towards him, and gently pressed his finger against the top of Sam's head.

"Be gentle." Megatron ordered. Oh yeah, Sam thought, he was not going to like this. He jumped as a strange sensation invaded his mind. It was like a cold fish swimming around his brain, or like being submerged in a glass of ice water. He felt his eyes closing.

"Hmph. Interesting picture. You've got quite an imagination." The human's eyes popped open again, but almost immediately closed again. "Doesn't take much to startle you though." A pressure formed behind the human's eyes. His body felt clammy. He shivered and clutched his head. He smelled something, something unpleasant.

Burnt flesh. He opened his eyes onto an eerily familiar scene. The metal buildings, the dark dirt, the horrid smells of humanity, filth and misery. The slave camps? But it all felt so real-

There was a shout from behind him. Someone grabbed his arm and ran. He stumbled, but caught himself before he fell. It would be bad if he fell, very bad. He looked at the man pulling him along- dirty, hard-eyed and smelling of fresh blood. Human screams sounded all around them. The man pulled harder. There were pounding footsteps behind him, as an angry voice shouted in pure Cybertronian. The slave master was in a rage again. Someone was going to pay. Before he realized it, the man had shoved him under a piece of metal. Sam looked up at the man, staring into his eyes. He looked like… like…There was another shout of rage. Sam looked over the man's shoulder, far over him. A giant foot came down. He lay on the dirt, covered in the blood and fluids of the man who'd just been stepped on. The slave master was gone. Actually, everyone was gone. There were no screams, no panicking, helpless humans…

Soundwave's voice echoed through the landscape. Sam looked around for the mech, sitting up. "Lord Megatron put Millennium in the slave camps to learn patience and to control his temper. Apparently he'll need… another form of punishment."

Sam stood, still searching for the mech."…Where are you?" he whispered, jumping at the sound of his voice.

"Ah. I wondered when you would start talking." Soundwave ignored the question. "What other secrets are you hiding in your processor, little human?" Sam barely had time to collect himself being he found himself in another memory.

There were never enough blankets at the slave camp. The lucky ones huddled around never-ending fires, close together for warmth. The others sat in the darkness, in pairs, some engaging in inappropriate behavior. Sam curled into himself. He could be by the fire, or with another person, but… No, never. Instead, he slipped outside to find a sheltered spot by the outside of the chimney, warmed by the fires.  
"A little cold to be outside tonight, isn't it?" Sam jumped at the sound of the mech's voice. He looked up, into the red optics of one of the slave keepers. The keeper smiled at him, almost kind. "I have some more blankets, if you want them."

A brief frown crossed Sam's face. Just because he was mute didn't mean he was stupid. Something about this mech, something in the way he held his body didn't feel right. The mech's optics narrowed. "I highly recommend you come with me, human. Jinx is heading this way. Someone messed with his quarters. If he finds out you were outside, he'll blame you." Not that Jinx needed a reason to beat Sam; the mute was his whipping boy whenever the mech was annoyed and Sam was nearby. Reluctantly, Sam nodded. Something was not good about this, but he did not want another beating for being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

The mech scooped him up and walked out with him. Several mechs and humans saw them. The looks on their faces went from disgust to sympathetic horror. It only took a few minutes for Sam to realize they were not heading towards the supply deck. These had to be someone's quarters, and slaves went into the quarters for two reasons only. One was to clean, but the other was not so innocent. The mech set him down on the berth. "Clothes off. Now." Sam staggered back onto the soft material of the berth, and stared up at the mech in front of him. "I know you aren't as stupid as you act, slave. Remove your clothes, now!" the mech snarled. Internally, Sam trembled. This… this couldn't be… no… The mech growled. Suddenly, a large dark-skinned man forced him to his back on the berth. Sam thrashed, clawing at the naked form on top of him. "Primus help me," the hologram growled as he yanked at Sam's shirt, "Do I have to do everything myself?" One of his hands grabbed Sam's wrist, pulling it over his head as his other hand snaked into his pants.

Sam threw his fist into the holo's face. To their mutual surprise, it vanished long enough for him to jump off the bed and run for the door. "Come back here you stupid fleshbag!" The mech gave chase, but Sam made the door and ran down the long hallway, searching for a place to hide. A broken down sat desk near the end of the hall. Sam bolted for it, but the mech was closing in. He reached it, and clambered into a human-sized hole just in time to avoid the mech's foot. Everything suddenly stopped. When Sam peaked out from his hiding place, the mech was gone.

Soundwave's voice broke through the silence, nearly making Sam jump out of his skin. "I hope you are aware that what the mech attempted to force you into is considered immoral amongst our kind. That one has been at it multiple times. His punishment will be much more severe this time."

Then, Sam found himself in his own personal hell. He was running. He heard Soundwave murmer in confusion. "I'm not going through this again!" Before he knew it, his eyes snapped open. He jerked from the finger pressing against his head, twisting his neck. He heard a crack, and his lower body went numb. "…What are you doing?" Pain ballooned through Sam's head and he fell backwards into darkness.

Megatron couldn't help the proud smirk on his face. After all he must have been through, he still had the inner will to fight back when he felt threatened. Then the human fell backwards onto his hand, hitting the metal with a dull thump, his head turned oddly. Megatron glared at his subordinate and snarled, "Explain. Now."

Soundwave sighed. "Lord Megatron, you must forgive me. Most of the memories I drew out were very traumatic ones. His mind is a jumbled mess. I could not control which ones I viewed, they forced themselves onto both of us."

"What did you see?" Megatron's tone was a mix of curiosity and disappointment.

"Two were images of his life at the slave camps. Millennium seems to have given in to his anger, but instead of taking it out on his subordinates, he's killing humans. It seems we will have to put him in solitary after all."

Megatron stiffened. "He tried to kill S- my slave?"

"No, sir. He was going after one of the slaves protecting your pet." Soundwave gave the human in his hands a very obvious look, forcing Megatron onto another topic.

"And the other vision, Soundwave?"

A grating sound came from the mech. Megatron frowned. He made that noise whenever he was irritated or angry about something. "Apparently tougher restrictions on him didn't curb Fornix's desire for humans."

The words floated through Megatron's processor, slowly digesting the context and what it meant for his human. "He tried to assault him," he said, voice flat.

"The boy escaped," Soundwave said, "He was able to hide himself before any harm befell him. Then came a memory of running, and it was so painful that he went into stasis to avoid it."

Internally Megatron breathed a sigh of relief. So, Sam hadn't been hurt too badly, all things considered. "When will we be able to try again?" he asked.

Soundwave sighed, just a soft hiss from his vents. "I am not sure, my lord. His processing unit is far too fragile to try anytime soon. You will have to find a way to stabilize his emotions before I will be able to attempt it again."

How disappointing. Megatron tried not to let his displeasure show at this new turn of events. Of course, he knew the boy was not quite right, but to this extent? "Very well Soundwave," He said after a pause. He turned towards the door. "I suppose I will take my leave-"

"There is something very odd about this boy, sir. Most humans could not survive the trauma I sensed in him."

Soundwave's words forced Megatron to a stop. He stared down at the human in his hand, formulating a response. "It is none of your concern."

For a moment, there was silence behind him. Before Megatron could decide to turn around, Soundwave laughed. It was a distinct sound, like a series of mindless notes played from a fried radio. "Lord Megatron, you know most of your men would insist on his death if it were discovered he is so strong for a human, and with no clue of his background. They would say that he is an Autobot spy of some kind and demand his death."

Hmm? "'Most of my men?'" Megatron said, half turning towards the blue mech, "Does that mean you do not?"

Soundwave shifted, and sighed. "I do not approve of keeping humans as pets. I do not approve of keeping the human race alive at all. However, it is your choice. To ask you to kill your new pet is the equivalent of asking the human race to be slaughtered."

Not for the first time Megatron felt grateful that he had a subordinate willing to say what he really felt about a situation, instead of agreeing with everything the Decepticon leader said. "I appreciate your understanding on this matter." Megatron said. He turned red optics towards the mech. "But I wonder… does your disapproval have something to do with your creations?" Soundwave tensed slightly. Megatron knew he hit a soft spot. Though Soundwave never showed his compassion in public, he cared for his creations deeply. To mention them in a conversation like this probably brought old fears back to the surface. Soundwave would rather kill his creations then make them live the life of the humans.

Chuckling softly to himself, Megatron turned and left. He knew Soundwave keep his silence. Megatron never intended to harm the cassettes, but creators worried. 

Speaking of manipulating… Megatron's optics fell upon the human in his hands. How was he supposed to 'stabilize' his pet's processing center? He still needed to find out how to fill his pet's basic needs.


	2. The trials and tribulations of new pets

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Megatron learns more about the care and tending of human pets.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do not own Transformers except in my daydreams.

Nearing his quarters, Megatron began to worry about his pet. Sam remained limp and still, without coming out of the stasis his encounter with Soundwave induced. His neck moved oddly, as though something was wrong with the neck strut. Carefully he adjusted the boy so that his neck looked straight. When he entered his quarters and locked the door, he scanned Sam and discovered with relief that the boys vented normally and simply seemed to be recharging. He ensured that the neck strut stayed straight and saw the boy twitch at his touch. That worry eased, he also noticed how the boy smelled. A grimace washed over the Tyrant's face. He ordered human supplies, but if he wanted a better smelling human, it looked like he would have to take action immediately.

He needed to bathe his new pet. He laid Sam back on the pillow and let him recharge. Now, where would he bath the boy? The pressure in his washracks flattened smaller mechs and might well kill a human. Then a drone beeped at the door with the supplies he requested. He regarded the small garments, cleaning supplies and soft cleaning clothes dubiously. Sam recharged on, though his neck did not wobble when Megatron picked him up and took him to the washrack shelf. Megatron adjusted the temperature of the water to the human's body temperature. He reached for the human's shirt. As his fingertips grazed the thin material Sam suddenly tensed. Megatron paused for a moment. What would happen if he woke the human up before he was done washing him? He did not want the boy to panic, thinking Megatron wanted what Fornix did.

But the boy stayed deep in recharge, so Megatron tore the rest of clothes off with his claws. They smelled as bad as the boy and he tossed them away with disgust. He draped the human over his hand and grimaced at the softness. No wonder so many of his men called humans 'fleshbags'. As Megatron lowered him into the water, the boy smiled a little. Pulling his pet out of the water, Megatron poked his claw into the bar of soap, put it in the water, and ran it over the boy's skin. Yes, that worked. A small hand smacked his finger. Megatron pulled away. Sam twitched, eyes fluttering, before he rolled over onto his belly. There was a strange reaction at one point, which went away when he moved to a different area. Curious, he explored what areas provoked that reaction, until he realized what the reaction was. Amused, he continued to wash the human, watching out for more of those sensitive spots and finding many. Finally, he finished and dried the boy carefully on the soft human sized towels. It took him several tries to figure out how to maneuver his pet and his new armor without tearing the fragile material to shreds. Then he placed the soft leather collar over the boy's neck, noting that it was definitely stable and moving normally now.

Megatron scooped uphis better looking and smelling pet and carried him into his office. Holding the human as gently as he could in one hand, he pulled the blankets out of his subspace pocket and arranged them as best he could on his desk. It wasn't much of a berth, but it would do until the rest of the supplies arrived. He may as well get some work done while his pet recovered and he waited for the rest of the supplies.

 Brown eyes slowly opened, then immediately shut again at the strong light. Sam's head and neck hurt.  He rolled over onto his stomach and crawled until he came under the shade of something hard and heavy. As his eyes adjusted to the brightness, Sam realized he hid under a pile of electronic pads. Closing his eyes, he relaxed and coaxed his mind to bring back his last memories. Megatron found him, didn't he?

No. Megatron, for some reason known only to the Decepticon leader, decided that he wanted the slave that looked like Sam Witwicky for a pet. If Megatron believed he was truly Sam Witwicky, Sam would be in a cage in some research Decepticon's lab, not on Megatron's desk. Sam sat up, moving slowly. He felt like Megatron  knocked him off that building again. He remembered twisting his neck. So he'd broken his neck again, only to have it healed. Again. He wondered if Megatron even noticed. Where was Megatron? And why was his hair wet?

Brushing a strand of wet white hair from his eyes, Sam noticed his new clothes. He stroked the black silk pants and a black silk sleeveless shirt. He touched his neck and felt soft leather Was this a collar? He remembered that at one point the slaves wore metal collars to distinguish them from free humans. The practice stopped when there were no more free humans anywhere in the world. Well, he would find out what was going on soon enough. In his very long life, Sam learned to take problems as they arrived if there was nothing he could do about them. He found a comfortable spot on the desk and curled up. He might as well enjoy the feeling of being clean, in clean clothes, and comfortable while it lasted.

At what point Sam fell asleep, he wasn't sure. He woke to something tapping in front of him. Looking up with squinted eyes, he saw Megatron's face with its crimson optics in front of him. Sam bolted straight up, backing away from Megatron. A smirk curled over the Tyrant's face- he seemed quite amused by his new slave's reaction. "So, finally awake. For a time I thought you were hurt." Relief swept through Sam as he realized that Megatron did not realize how serious his injury was. "I brought some fuel for you. "

Hope rose. Was he going to get something other than the slop they served at the slave camps? The idea of real food made his mouth water and his stomach ache. To his surprise, Megatron placed canned food in front of him-fruit cocktail, some strange kind of bean, mixed nuts, and soup. The other foods were in some strange kind of see-through containers- beef jerky, energy bars, instant flavor mix, and large plastic bottles filled with water. Where did the Decepticon leader get all this stuff? Seeing Sam's expression, Megatron said, "Several of my more clever soldiers realized that the energy substances we give your kind aren't as suitable for pets as they are for common work slaves. They've stored a good portion of this continent's old food supply in mass subspace pockets to preserve it. The food is safe. I've checked."  
Megatron watched him for a while, waiting for something. Sam waited for permission to eat. Finally, the Decepticon leader said, "What's wrong? Can't you figure out how to get into the stuff?"

Thanks for the hint, Sam thought. He made a show of figuring out the pull-top can, sniffed at the contents as though they were new to him, and found a spoon in one of the containers. He sampled the food carefully, as though he did not know what to expect. Then he felt free to shovel it in. As a result, he finished the fruit cocktail in record time. Wisely he decided that he better eat something that took effort or he would make himself sick, so he chose the beef jerky. The first bite was hot and spicy. To his surprise, Megatron laughed at the look on his face. Sam ate more, chewing and sipping slowly. Megatron brought much more than slaves got at the camps. He piled the leftovers near him and looked up to see Megatron watching.

"You don't need to hoard it," his new master told him. "I'll get you more when you need it." Sam nodded and looked down respectfully. A light touch brought his head back up. A long sigh came from the Decepticon's vents. "You remind me of a boy I knew vorns ago." Sam nodded, his look attentive. Megatron made a humming noise. "Well, do you know, boy, I can talk to you, can't I, and there's no one you can tell what I say. Convenient, isn't it?" Sam considered the idea and shrugged. Megatron laughed. "Let me tell you a story then."

Sam listened as Megatron began, "Many vorns ago, I came to this world looking for the All-Spark-" Megatron talked about being frozen, of realizing that he was being moved from the ice, but never allowed to thaw enough to boot all of his systems before he was frozen again. Several times his awareness surfaced, only to go back into stasis when he was refrozen. He spoke in rage about his body being invaded for technology. After a time, he talked about the complete unthawing and the battle of Mission City, when his conquest of Earth began.

"Those idiots gave the All-Spark to the boy so that he could get it to humans to hide. He actually made it to the top of the building and was about to give it to the humans in the helicopter when Starscream shot it from the sky. He crawled into some decorative thing on the roof with the All-Spark, and I told him that I would make him my pet if he gave me the Cube. He defied me. That took courage. I liked that about him."

Not enough to leave me alone, Sam thought. 

"Of course, he had black hair, not white, and his vocalizer worked very well. I want to know who took your vocalizer, my little one. Something tells me that the mech was into something I would want to know about. But that is for the future. Anyway, I struck the decoration, only to see it fall down the building. The boy fell into Optimus Prime's hand, and he died. I remember seeing him cough blood and his eyes glaze in death. I regretted that. "Megatron sighed. " I would have taken him if he's survived. He would have been a challenge to tame."

Sam kept his expression attentive, hiding the shock at that statement with the ease of long practice.

"Optimus Prime took the boy and the All-Spark away. I found them later. Optimus put the All-Spark in his spark. How could I have such a fool for my brother! I found the boy's body still in his hand." His face hardened. "The others are still my prisoners. When we find more Autobots, I throw them in with the rest. There are jobs humans can't do; alt forms they can take that are useful. Only one of them managed to get away-blast that Ironhide to the pits! I keep them isolated from humans and my other Decepticons. I visit sometimes. Sooner or later they will bend to me." Sam doubted that and felt a pang for Bumblebee. He wondered if they were better off than he was.

"At first I wanted to kill all humans,but I realized after a time that killing out the human race would be a stupid waste of resources. There are not enough of our kind to restore Cybertron. So I tamed the humans." He reached out and Sam flinched, but the Decepticon only stroked his hair and then his back. "You humans know your place now. We might start training  for more detailed jobs without worrying about a rebellion. Sooner or later we need to expand further into space and look for the remaining Autobots and Decepticons. "

Thatt did not sound like the Megatron he remembered. Still, if he could get in good with the Decepticon leader, Sam  might  manage some improvements for the other humans. With cautious movements, Sam reached out and touched Megatron's massive forearm. Megatron immediately looked down at him, and as a response to his stunned look, Sam smiled. Megatron bought it, stroking his hair again. Then he scooped him up and placed him on what looked like a shelf. "Stay there and let me work for a time."

In the last few days, Sam worked to learn how to stack and store the large energon cubes correctly, doing grinding hard labor. Having a chance to rest with a full stomach felt like heaven. He dozed off and woke to movement. He pushed up and rubbed his eyes, only to clutch at the ground as it started to move. Why the hell did Megatron think putting him on his shoulder was a good idea? Without apparently noticing, the Tyrant put a hand up to keep Sam from falling off, and headed towards the door.

When he heard the knock, Megatron felt relieved. He knew organics had to rid themselves of waste somewhat more often than mechs did, and he had no idea what the signs of that need was, nor any desire to deal with unexpected puddles on his floor-or desk- or shelf for that matter. The Constructicons already warned him via com that they were coming, and that they would bang on the door when they arrived. Megatron picked up his pet-sleeping again?- and set him on his shoulder as he answered. On the way to the door, the human woke. Megatron put a steadying hand on him as he opened the door.

In came Scrapper, already grumbling that this was a petty job that did not need his expertise and any drone could have done it. He shut up at Megatron's glare, before their attention went to his pet. The little one scooted until he reached Megatron's neck, clutching at the seams in the armor with all his might. Megatron could feel his quick breathing and the increased heartbeat. Megatron stroked his back gently with his thumb as he walked Scrapper into his private quarters, and the little one calmed. As they spoke, the pet shifted to sit on his shoulder and watch the Construction as the mechs discussed what the human would need. "I need a place for him to stay when I cannot have him near me," Megatron said.

"Hmm," Scrapper said thoughtfully. "I let my female, Yellowhair, have free run in my quarters, but she's the offspring of another pet and knows how to behave. You took this one from the slave camps, Master?"

"Yes," Megatron said. "He resembles the boy who ran off with the Cube on Prime's order and died in his hands. I call him Sam after that youngling."

"Ah," Scrapper said, taking a closer look at the boy. "Wondered why he was so shy. He'll take a while to get used to mechs being around all the time, master. Hook got one, Spark, from the camps who was bright enough to help him with wiring, and he hid every time he saw a strange mech for a time. Slept a lot, too, for the first few weeks." Megatron nodded, not showing the relief over hearing that news.

In the meantime, Sam began to squirm. To the Decepticon leader's relief and gratitude, Scrapper excused himself and returned with an odd-looking device that had a hole in a human-size seat. "Look here, Sam, this is a waste disposal," he said as he placed it on the floor against the wall. Megatron put Sam down and without hesitation he went to the odd device and used it. "That's a bright one!" Scrapper exclaimed. "My Yellowhair had to show Spark what to do. Poor thing lubricated on the disposal and  Hook made him clean up the mess."

Megatron put Sam on the berth when he finished releasing his waste. "Stay here while we talk," he commanded. Sam nodded, though he glanced at Scrapper without meeting that mech's gaze, as was proper with a slave. Scrapper frowned, and Sam tensed.

"Speak respectfully to your master," he scolded.

"Sam is mute," Megatron told him, satisfied that word of his speechless pet would spread. All the Constructicons gossiped. Once word spread to pet owners that lord Megatron took a pet human, he expected plenty of advice and assistance. He stroked Sam's back again, before outlining what he wanted.

His pet would have the best, as befitted the dignity of the Decepticon leader.


	3. Questions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Soundwave confronts his master with some anomalies regarding Sam; Sam remembers his first and last physical punishment and worries. Warning- mention of rape, not explicit.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is all mine, folks ( the other two came from Mrs. Bumblebee's original chapters).  
> I do not own Transformers except in my daydreams.

Megatron stroked Sam while he looked over a proposal Hook and the Constructicons presented on building additions to the security satellites. He finished the proposal, added some questions , and sent it back to them before looking over at his pet. Sam doodled on his own datapad, one that Megatron gave him to play with some time ago. He drew pictures on it-sometimes amusing, sometimes disturbing, but always interesting. The ones of various torments inflicted by slave masters resulted in investigations and the institution of oversights. Some pictures poked fun of several bots and sent Megatron into fits of laughter. The one of Hook making a mistake and going into stasis was one of his favorites, as was one of Starscream going into the side of a mountain after trying to stab Megatron in the back and missing.

Megatron never figured out the purpose of the doodles, though he tried to make sense of them at times when Sam was asleep. Still, they kept Sam near him and happily occupied while Megatron worked. Sam remained his constant companion except when Megatron feared his pet would be in danger, such as trips to space.

"Master, I have the production reports and suggestions for improvements for some of the mines that you requested," Soundwave sent.

"Good. Bring them in, and we'll look them over. " he sent back. Aloud, he said, "Sam, Soundwave is coming." After his experience with the failed interrogation, Sam hid whenever Soundwave appeared. It was easier to let Sam leave ahead of time. Sam nodded and put his datapad in the drawer Megatron opened for him before sliding down his pole and heading for his pet door. As Sam reached his door, he added, "I'll want to be polished afterward, and then I'll give you a bath." Sam nodded before holding up a hand, meaning he needed to remind his master of something. Then he rubbed his upper belly and mimed carrying something- he needed more food soon. "How many meals do you have food for?" Sam considered and showed nine fingers. "I'll be taking you with me for some inspections tomorrow and we can see what the farms have. If something comes up I'll get you some preserved food." Sam nodded and popped through his door as Soundwave came in. Megatron watched him go, looking forward the quiet time they would share later. He found Sam had uses besides entertainment and companionship. His pet's small hands reached into parts of his armor that Megatron could not, usefull for pulling out pieces of grit. Sam did some other useful chores for him.

Adustments for the pet appeared all around the office. Besides the human sized door and the pole Sam used to slide down from the desk, one of the drawers held blankets, bottles of water, and dried food. There was a cage in the corner with the same accommodations, along with a small container for waste if needed. The cage served two purposes: to move Sam out of the way if his master thought there was an immediate danger or need, and as a punishment. Once Megatron used physical punishment on Sam; his poor pet could not get out of bed for two days. Sam cringed at any movement for a long time afterward, despite promises that his master would never do that to him again.

"There have been steady increases in production in the factories and farms," Soundwave said, displaying the differences on a datapad. Megatron hummed, pleased. "It seems your pet has his uses."

"I had no idea of the waste and graft in the human quarters," Megatron agreed. "The improvements in food and the building of better shelters lowered costs considerably. Since the humans live longer, they work longer, and we save time not training new slaves. "He looked at the factory reports. "And we don't lose time with fewer females out of work to carry."

Soundwave shrugged. "When we first conquered Earth, we only needed to find wild humans to get more workers. We neglected to adjust when we lost that resource. Allowing factory humans to grow their own gardens has saved on food costs. "

"I almost killed Sam for embarrassing me when he disobeyed me that day." Megatron mused. His expression hardened. "Only to find that Helix's stash of stolen food was only the smallest part of the problem." The Decepticon leader cared nothing at all about good treatment for the humans, or how their slave masters punished them until he discovered how much that carelessness cost. The rest of the Autobots out there somewhere, and they needed to have their defenses up. To build the defenses, the factories and mines needed to work efficiently, which meant the farms needed to feed the humans that did the work. "More than a third of our production sold on the black market for Swindle's hidden industries! If I ever get my hands on him again, he'll regret that he was ever sparked. Worse, some of the slavemasters were killing good, healthy working slaves for their pleasure. " Those slavemasters were now on the front lines in space. If they needed to kill, they could kill Megatron's enemies.

"The waste was appalling," Soundwave agreed. He displayed a chart showing how the changes in treatment affected their costs. "It seems that allowing the humans the garden plots and time to work them increased our production even after factoring in the loss from smugglers."  When Megatron toured the farms and factories again with Sam, he would make the final decision on what of the new policies to keep and what to jettison. When they reached the end of their discussion, Soundwave gathered his materials to put out to the various department heads. Then he paused. "I believe your pet has stabilized, after all this time. Do you need me to find out what happened to his vocalizer?"

"I can communicate with him somewhat better now," Megatron said dryly, wondering why this matter was coming up now. "He doesn't remember. "

"As you wish, master. Are you going to try to breed him?"

"I have tried, several times." Megatron frowned. "The Constructicons and Jetfire tried with a few of their females, but he never showed any interest in any of them. Hook said that some of his pets prefer to mate with their own sex and that Sam might be like that." The leader of the Decepticons shrugged. "I don't see that it matters until Sam shows some signs of age. "

Soundwave tensed. "Master, just how old is your pet? And how old do pets live, as compared to the work slaves?"

"I fail to see what business this is of yours," Megatron said stiffly.

Soundwave produced a chart on his datapad. "When you brought him to me the first time, Master, I agreed. I believed he would entertain you for a time and you would tire of him, or that he would die and no longer be a problem."

"And why has that changed?" Megatron's voice was silky, a danger sign Soundwave knew well.

"As you can see, even when humans still had their civilization, they normally died within a vorn. Work slave survive only about half a vorn, and pets can survive up to three quarters of one if well cared for. Sam was being transitioned from a youth farm to work at the energon plant, which means he was more than halfway through his second decade, and you have had him for a vorn. In addition, I discovered that both Fornix and Millenium were reassigned to the asteroid mines because their behavior in the slave camps was noted to be extreme, both more than a vorn ago. Humans do not live this long."

"Sam's been scanned several times," Megatron snapped. "By me, by the Constructicons including that perfectionist Hook, and once by Starscream, the slagger. He is no Pretender or spy. "

"But he is not normal, Master. In all the history of humankind that Jetfire has, no human has lived more than a vorn and a half. My research shows your pet has lived longer. Frenzy and Rumble saw him with you when you visited one of the nearby farms. They wondered which generation this Sam was, assuming that the original Sam must be dead by now long since. "

Two sets of red optics met, one angry, one tense. "Sam is mine and I say this does not matter!"

"I am not the only one to notice, Master. The human is your constant companion. Others have wondered and brought this to my attention. If the matter is not addressed soon, there may be a threat to both you and your pet. This matter must be resolved."

In the other room, Sam had the polish and the bath materials ready. He sniffed at his meal. Meetings between Megatron and Soundwave tended to be lengthy, and afterwards Megatron normally wanted attention. As his soup cooked, Sam remembered meeting Soundwave the first time and worried.

When Megatron brought him to his quarters the first time, and talked about Sam's first death, Sam knew the Decepticon leader regarded him as a toy. Megatron built Sam a neat little apartment with everything he thought a slave would want, taking suggestions from several pet owners as he did so. Then the learning curve started. Four times in the first month, Megatron injured Sam several times, four times badly enough to kill a normal human. Strangely enough, Sam found he could forgive his master. Megatron simply needed to learn to control his strength with an organic. Fortunately for Sam, after the last incident, Megatron sought out the mech considered to be a human expert and got help. Jetfire befriended and helped raise five human children after the Decepticon takeover and kept pets consistently since them, mostly descendants of the original children. He had a small village near him that helped him with the upkeep of his archives. Sam remembered the visits well. Megatron took him back several times, both to ask more about Sam's upkeep and to try and breed him.

Sam figured that Megatron would tire of him after a few years and send him away.  But Megatron was lonely, and Sam was someone safe to talk to and keep him company. Sam was not going to spill his secrets, as he could not talk. He could not question his master easily, and he could not threaten him in any meaningful way. He talked to Sam, telling stories to his attentive audience, and after a time, the immortal human was not pretending his fascination. While ruthless, Megatron appeared to be a strong, capable leader. In his stories, Megatron painted a picture of a world with governmental corruption, where the poor were ground under the heels of the rich. He told his silent listener how that corruption drove him to rebellion. He talked about the Fallen, who was shut into an alternate universe by his brothers when he tried to harvest the sun of a world that had primitive sentient life.  Two Primes died trying to stop him, before they tricked him into teleporting into the alternate dimension and sealing him there before he realized what he had done. They moved the device to another sun and got what they needed. Later a ship of another Prime crashed on Earth's moon and went into stasis while fighting a follower of the Fallen, a Decepticon called Shockwave, who was still on the moon.

"When my brother died, Ironhide took the remnants of the Cube and ran," Megatron growled. "Not a few weeks later, there was a commotion on the moon. I could not get there in time to stop the ship from leaving." He laughed harshly, and Sam shivered at the sound. Noticing, Megatron stroked his back. "They turned their back on humans and their comrades and ran like the cowards they were," he mocked. Sam thought they likely did not have a choice; they could not combat the Decepticons on Earth, so they went looking for help. "My forces will find them," Megatron said. "I will end their threat for once and all, when we do. "

Sam noticed the soup was ready, and took it out of the convection oven Jetfire found for him. He thought about the simple sign language they worked out between them . Sam got his exercise polishing Megatron's armor and doing other cleaning, but he knew his real value consisted of being Megatron's companion, and the pet the Decepticon leader enjoyed pampering. Unfortunately, Sam knew it could not last forever. Sooner or later Megatron was going to figure out something was odd. Sam dreaded that day.

They were at his old youth farm, where boys old enough to leave their caretakers but not yet adults worked. Sam knew that Helix was stealing supplies by shorting the food rations. Sam stood in the doorway of a storage building and refused to leave. Megatron went after him, furious and embarrassed by his unruly pet, and saw the supplies. They were not on Megatron's inventory.Sam expected Helix to  kill him. He planned on it. He knew he had been with Megatron for at least twenty years, and he figured that someone would catch on to the fact that he was not aging. Megatron had not, but Megatron was ignorant about human aging in general. He figured Helix would "kill" him, Megatron would discover a 'body' and the stash, and everything would work out. Sam would wake up and start another life somewhere and Helix would be investigated and therefore the lives of the kids at the camp would be improved. He hoped he could manage a few years in the wild before some Deception found him again.

Not one damn thing went to plan. Megatron came after him before Helix got a chance. The Decepticon leader immediately reacted to the stash, arresting Helix and arranging for an investigation. Then he brought Sam back to his quarters, still furious. "I have enough trouble with rumors about going soft without being disobeyed in public. You will learn to never defy me again!" Sam heard the locks click shut. He ran under the berth, trying to hide long enough for his master to calm down. He did not die, but he certainly felt pain. He did not want a whipping.

But Megatron did not have a whipping in mind. Instead the holoform of a heavily muscled human male came after him. One of Scrapper's pets told Sam about the worst experience in her life, and said that she heard for boys it was worse. She said she did not die but for a long time she wished she could. Evidently Megatron overheard them. Sam almost went into shock when a holoform of a heavily muscled human male came after him. The holoform dragged Sam to his apartment, to the bed, and raped him brutally.

Some time later, when Sam did not come out of the apartment , the master lifted the roof to find him. Horrified by the blood-soaked bed, he bathed Sam, cleaned the blankets and put him back to bed on top of several towels, checking on him several times until he stopped bleeding. By the next day, Sam managed to move around. He cursed whatever kept him alive, and held him at the age he 'died' at.  He thought Megatron cared about him, but at the first hint of defiance he did something like this?  Why couldn't Sam die? 

Megatron noted the change in Sam's behavior. His pet flinched whenever Megatron touched him. He never looked directly at his master unless forced. He cried off and on for several days. To Sam's surprise, he showed regret. He gave Sam the datapad to doodle on, brought him all his favorite foods, and asked the other Decepticons to brings their pets for visits. Eventually Megatron picked him up, and held him against his chest for a time, stroking his back. "Don't anger me like that again," he finally managed to say. "I will never hurt you like this again. I will make it up to you, I promise this. I know you meant to help me. But you cannot defy me in public again."

Sam knew how much it cost him to come that close to apologizing to his pet, and slowly began to forgive him. He realized that Megatron had no idea why his "punishment" hurt Sam so much. He only understood he punished Sam for giving him information he needed, and that Sam felt betrayed by his reaction. Sam regarded the apology as a minor miracle. Slowly, over time, he managed to forgive his master and stopped flinching when the mech touched him. He learned that Helix's theft led to the discovery of a huge smuggling ring. 

Still eager to please his pet after the 'punishment', he paid attention when Sam  brought him fresh food during a farm visit and asked in signs to take it home with him to eat.Sam still cherished the memory of Megatron finding out that the farm workers ate none of the food they grew. "If the food is right there, why aren't the farm humans eating it?" he asked. "Why waste the money on shipping out what they would eat and bringing different food?"

"But it has to feed all the other humans too, master! This way we can measure and monitor what they eat. We have always done it that way!" On research, they discovered that at one time the supervisors wanted to measure how much nutrition each human needed to get their work done. Somehow that became a permanent policy. Megatron conferred with his archivist and worked out a policy that while the humans would eat the grey mush that provided their basic nutrition, they were allowed small plots and supplies to grow their own food. The archivist,  Jetfire,  pointed out that farmable land sat near most factories. Humans there could grow gardens the way his families always had, and provide some of their own food at the cost of the materials needed and a few hours a week to do the work. Megatron made the change. 

 Sam would have endured a lot more than one rape to get better food to his fellow humans.

Sam felt Megatron was genuinely fond of him, and he cared for his master, but he wondered what his master would do when he found out who Sam really was.


	4. Investigation and revelation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Megatron investigates, and even Sam is surprised by the results.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do not own Transformers except in some very wistful daydreams

Megatron rufused to allow Soundwave to question Sam that day; instead he sent his most loyal subordinate away with a grudging agreement to look into the matter. Then he walked to his quarters and lifted the lid of his pet's apartment. This occupied a space between his berth and a storage space, making it unlikely that the Decepticon leader would accidentally step on it. Before he moved it here, he crushed a part of the apartment with Sam in it. Sam's leg looked crooked and he bled a lot. Then he went to sleep for most of a day, after which he seemed fine.

Sam set out the bathing materials and polishes. When Megatron finished in the washracks, he lay on his berth, picking up his pet human on the way. His human removed the grit from his joints first, beginning with the mechanical being's fingers. When he worked through all the joints, finishing his neck last, Megatron applied the polish to all the areas he could reach. Sam finished applying the polish in his back and some other areas where Megatron could not manage and began buffing, beginning at the back of Megatron's head and finishing on his chest, close to his spark. By the time he finished, Megatron felt as relaxed as he ever got. For a time both of them lay quietly, with Sam panting on Megatron's chest while his master stroked his back.

Sam smelled somewhat like a work slave at that point. After a time Megatron got up and went back to the wash rack shelf where Sam's bathing bowl stood. He covered his claws with a washcloth to wash and rinse Sam thoroughly. Then he allowed Sam to lie in the bowl of water at the heat his pet liked while his master got energon for himself. By the time he finished it, the water cooled somewhat. Sam got out and dried himself on the small human towels. Megatron applied a sweet-smelling skin lotion . He took care not to press too hard, as that left colored marks on Sam's skin. While they faded after a few hours, Sam moved as though they hurt. Once the master learned how to gently apply the sweet-smelling stuff, though, Sam enjoyed the process, relaxing the way Megatron relaxed when being buffed. Sam's skin was perfect and unblemished, soft from the lotions but with firmness under the skin with the only exception being the scar on his throat. While Sam did not work as hard as a work slave, he did have chores other than the polishing, and they kept him in good shape. Done, Megatron wrapped his sleepy human in a towel and put him on his bed before heading to his own berth.

Once there, though, Megatron thought over what Soundwave told him. Then Sam made a whimpering noise. Megatron concentrated, and his holoform appeared inside Sam's quarters. He went to Sam's berth, where his human moved and whimpered in his sleep. Sam lay on his side, as Megatron laid him. The holoform stroked Sam's back, and the human quieted back into sleep. Sam made the pain sounds in his sleep from the time he came to Megatron, but they worsened after the punishment, coming almost every night for a time before fading to once every week or so again.

Dismissing the holoform, Megatron considered. He enjoyed his time with Sam. Still, Soundwave's concerns remained valid. He decided to make his own inquiries before he subjected Sam to Soundwave's mind interrogation again. It occurred to him that he might discover what haunted his pet. 

For the next few weeks he made inspections, and as usual he took Sam with him. Now that the humans ate the food they grew on the large farms they worked on, his pet visited the kitchen storage to get his own fuel, and stayed in the cooking buildings until Megatron came for him. Casual questions to the better slavemasters got the Decepticon leader some of the information he needed. That confirmed most of what Soundwave said- work slaves normally lived a little more than half a vorn. "They do live longer now, Master, since we changed the rules about the food and built the better shelters," Extractor said, surprise in his voice. "I've got one or two that have lived almost three-quarters of a vorn. "

"How do they die?" Megatron asked. Once they no longer had the means to make weapons, humans became easy to kill on the battlefield. Once there were no more battlefields, he no longer cared, until he discovered that such ignorance was costly.

"Sometimes they get sick and die. There are accidents where they get hurt, and get rot in their skin breaks," the slavemaster said. "Sometimes their bones break, and when that happens, they almost always get rot in it and die. A lot of the females die carrying or birthing. That's why we give them the lighter work when we have them breeding. Then there's the ones who just wear out. If they get so they can't even do the easier jobs, or if they're in a lot of pain, we'll put them down. That used to be about half a vorn, but like I said, now they live a little longer before they wear out." He pointed out a few humans who were getting 'worn out,' and was able to say how old they were. They were all decades younger than Sam.

Megatron saw that some had white hair, like Sam, but there the similarities ended. Most of them had deeply wrinkled skin, thin or missing hair, bent backs and knots in their hands. Some had white in their eyes where the black normally was, or dark marks on their skins. They moved slowly. Perhaps pets were different. Megatron only nodded and asked about production quotas. Extractor provided them gleefully, proud to produce good news. Pleased, Megatrom called for Sam and arranged for the supplies he needed to be delivered to the base.

Part of the routine included a visit to Jetfire. After discussing the differences the changes made and what other changes might work in increasing production, Megatron started a discussion about how work slaves and pets were different. "My people do live longer than the work slaves, and most pets do," Jetfire agreed. "The ones that don't die from accidents and the illnesses that attack the young live about three quarters of a vorn. But they start showing sights of wear at about half a vorn. They take longer to heal. If they get a break in their skin or break a bone, they get rot more easily. A young one will heal a bone in four or five weeks, but the older ones take six to eight. And they get sick more often." His voice became sympathetic. "Are you worried about your pet, Master?"

"In a way," Megatron said. The archivist wanted changes for the humans from some time before Megatron listened to him, alerted by Swindle's massive stealing. "Sam drew these. I would like for you to look at them and tell me if you would worry." He withdrew a datapad from his subspace and gave it to the old Seeker. "I copied this from the datapad that Sam plays with when I have him on my desk."

Jetfire looked at the pictures that Megatron downloaded first. Some of them surprised a snort of laughter from him; others made him growl with anger. Then he reached another section, and he went still. "Yes?" his master asked impatiently.

"This is human writing," Jetfire said. "What they called cursive, the way they wrote when they did not have the computers and needed to write quickly. But how- humans lost the art of writing long ago. "

"Can you read it?" Megatron asked intently. He felt both disturbed and elated. This might be a means of talking to his pet, besides the awkward signs and Sam's body language and expressions. His pet was creative, but it was still awkward and irritating to guess at what were essentially charades.

"Yes, Master. I have the files locked in memory. Give me a moment and I will translate for you."

"Wait," he said. "I wish to read them myself. Transfer the files to me." Jetfire presented arguments before on the cost of wasting human lives, and Megatron ignored him. When Sam exposed the resources Helix was hiding and exposed Swindle's smuggling ring, he started listening to the old Seeker. The results were good.

When Megatron had the files, he began, "This is the same pet I have had from the beginning." Jetfire looked at the datapad again, at the writing that no captive human remembered anymore and had not for many of their generations. "I have seen his neck twist and break. I have seen him bleed until several blankets were soaked and dripping. I have seen his leg broken. All of those were injuries I gave him when I did not know how fragile humans were. Each time he had healed without any mark showing except the one on his throat."

"I've scanned him for you myself, master," Jetfire said. "Not deeply, but deeply enough to know that he is human. Only Ratchet and Hook can scan deeper. But no normal human can heal from a broken neck, or survive bleeding out most of his blood."

"Perhaps this will hold our answers," Megatron said, looking at the datapad. He knew that Shockwave could scan that deeply as well, but Jetfire hated Shockwave and his cold scientific attitude. Shockwave performed several experiments on humans that gave even his fellow Decepticons pause. At the same time, Megatron had no intention of letting the Autobot healer anywhere near any humans, much less his pet, and he did not trust Hook's loyalty as much as he trusted Shockwave's.

It was evening, with the dark just coming. Sam and the other humans gathered around several buckets. Sam poured a thick liquid into jars. Some of the group looked up and saw the two masters approaching, and bent to speak to Sam. He looked up and saw Megatron and Jetfire. One of the others took the bucket as Sam picked up a jar and headed over to the stack of supplies he put together. While Sam got the bulk of his fuel from the farms, Jetfire's humans grew some more specialized kinds. Megatron assumed they shared because Sam was his pet and Jetfire ordered it.

"Did he ever tell you he was born wild?" Jetfire asked. Megatron nodded; he sent out several patrols to try and find a settlement of wild humans within a broad region around the farm, but they found nothing. "Sam told some of my people that he was born wild and grew up with a few other families, but they all died," Jetfire went on. "He was the only survivor. He tried to find others, and got caught. So he knows things. How to cook food that otherwise would make the humans sick. How to find all kinds of wild food. He teaches my people, so they don't mind sharing with him."

"How many other secrets do you hold, Sam?" Megatron wondered aloud.

"I would like to question him for the archives, Master. If you decide you no longer want him-"

"He is mine," Megatron said swiftly. "Nothing changes that."

"Yes, Master. But you come here regularly. With your permission, I would like to talk to him."

"I will consider the matter." In truth, he would like to leave Sam here with other humans and under Jetfire's care when he left for space. "Once I have my answers." He looked at the datapad and then at Sam, who waited patiently by his supplies. Suddenly amusement swept through him. "It seems that I have good taste, choosing the best of their kind for my pet."

Sam was exhausted by the time they returned to the human quarters. "You stink," Megatron complained when he picked Sam up to bring him home. Sam shrugged. He spotted a hive of honeybees and smoked it to get the honey. He carried a jar of it. Jetfire's people knew about honey, but they did not know how to get it without getting the crap stung out of them. He taught them something new every time he went there. They knew something had to be up with him, since he never seemed to age and knew stuff no normal human nowadays would know, but they said nothing, not even to Jetfire. They liked his knowledge, and despite having respect for Jetfire, they relished the idea of having information their master did not.

Some of them quietly speculated on their chances of getting away from any master whatsoever, if Sam could teach them enough. Sam hated to, but he discouraged the idea. True, he knew how to survive in the wild, and he believed he could keep most of them alive, but he learned the hard way that no slave ever escaped; the Decepticons never accepted anything but the sight of a dead body to stop a hunt for a running slave. He knew from bitter and very painful experience. When the Decepticons decided they wanted human slave labor, they set out to be sure their work force stayed under their mechanical thumbs. The farms and factories stood in carefully chosen areas that held no places a human could hide from their scans. They supervised humans in mines even more carefully. 

Megatron put his pet down near his small quarters. "Did you enjoy yourself with Jetfire's pets?" he asked. Sam nodded enthusiastically. Megatron smiled. "Go get the smell off you," he said. He drew the supplies from Jetfire's pets from subspace and lifted the top of Sam's quarters to put them inside. The rest would arrive in a day or two. Sam headed for the shower in his quarters. As ordered, he scrubbed himself down and put his clothes to soak for cleaning in the morning. He slid on another set. Megatron, as promised, had never 'punished' him again, but Sam wore something to bed every night. Megatron liked to see him in dark colors for some reason- black, deep blue, or charcoal grey seemed to be his favorites. He liked silk, too, saying he liked the way it felt.

Sam admitted that some things about being Megatron's pet were sweet. Polishing Megatron was hard work, but the baths were great. The soak in the hot bowl always felt good, and once the master learned how not to bruise Sam, the rubdown with the lotion was like a massage. Megatron never did anything but apply the lotion. The food was a hell of a lot better, especially since he could get fresh now. Megatron did insist that he eat the mush once a day, but Sam could mix the stuff with other food and that made it tolerable. He knew that since he could not get meat, he needed the nutrients in the mush.

He spent a lot of time bored until Megatron figured out he could draw on a datapad. Since the master had no idea what his 'doodles' were- Sam saw him examine the datapad frequently- Sam kept a kind of diary and wrote a lot of his life story. Sometimes he just let his mind wander; sometimes he remembered old fairy tales or movies. He let his mind wander now, remembering how his uncle taught him to smoke bees the first time.

For a time today he was uneasy. Both the master and Jetfire looked at him oddly. Not in a bad way, so much as though they just thought of something and they weren't sure how to handle the matter. But there was nothing different about the way he acted as they came home, so Sam wrote it off to paranoia and went to sleep.

He was washing his clothes the next afternoon when Megatron called him into the office. He sighed. He knew Megatron scheduled meetings today and hoped to get the cleaning done. He reminded himself that he could catch a nap in the drawer if he had to. He had just used his waste disposal and the clothes would be okay if left to soak a while longer, so he straightened his outfit and headed through his door.

He stopped when he saw Soundwave and a new mech with one eye at the desk with Megatron. Behind Sam heard the door lock, and he knew he was in deep trouble. He looked at his master, and with perfect clarity saw that Megatron knew. He knew, and he intended to hand Sam over to the scientist after Soundwave finished with him. He knew that the only one-eyed mech who had a normal humanoid shape was Shockwave. The slave grapevine painted him as a cold scientist that even the Masters feared. Despair and terror nailed him to the floor. There was nowhere to run, and he could not even die to get away from the torment they surely had in mind….

"Sam," Megatron said, "who do you belong to?" That question startled Sam out of his state of frozen terror, and he pointed at Megatron. "Good. Come here." Sam came, circling as far away from the two mechanical terrors as he could and bolting into Megatron's outstretched hand. He clung desperately to seams in his master's armor as Megatron lifted him into his leg before reaching into the drawer for Sam's blankets. In one quick, smooth move, he stretched Sam out on the blankets and held him down. "This is necessary, my little one. No one will hurt you." Sam looked at him in mute dismay. "It's all right. We are looking for answers, but you are mine, and no one will hurt you." Megatron leveled a look at both of the mechs in front of him. They nodded with no change of expression. Sam relaxed just a little. "Gently, Soundwave." The mech reached down and pressed his finger on Sam's head as he had before.

There was the sensation again, cold moving into his mind. He felt his eyes closing again. Show me how you came to be at the youth camp, Soundwave commanded, and Sam remembered being found by the patrol, who thought he was abandoned by a lazy supervisor and took him to the youth camp with a lecture to Helix. He had gotten away from the mines when there was an explosion. Sam remembered terrible pain before his memory whited out, and he found himself thrown into a pile of mangled bodies. Before the mines he was at a factory where an illness went through and he managed to leave as bodies were piled up to be burned. He managed to get to the mountains and live free for a time when he was found by a convoy taking slaves to the mines.

The mines were illegal? Soundwave asked sharply.

"Swindle's," Sam told the cold mind. "My master found it already."

Did you know who was running the black market?

"No. Only that they were crueler than usual." So many times he wished he could die, the only escape most of them had from the mines. Soundwave absorbed that thought and pushed Sam back further, past Fornix and Millenium, but not before picking up that the male who tried to protect Sam owed the boy his life, and repaid the debt. There were memories of running and being brought back to a horrendous punishment. Then came memories of farming, of dealing with the struggles of everyday life as a farmer, of working with former freedom fighters who were out of weapons, and looking for a haven, and how they taught him to live off the land, of having to leave at times and return as a relative to hide that he did not age…

Why do you not age or die? All of us die in time.

"I don't know. I'd have given anything to die sometimes. Humans are not meant to live so long. We live, have children, and die to make room for them."

Do you have offspring?

"No. The price I pay for this unwanted long life is sterility and little to no interest in sex." His mental voice was wistful. Soundwave knew how unusual this was for a human male, but another fleeting image went through Sam's mind, with fear and pain and betrayal attached to it.

Show me how you met your master the first time, Soundwave instructed swiftly, and Sam remembered the huge mech kept in stasis lock by the cold being constantly directed at it, before Sam remembered Bumblebee's legs being shot off, and the scout handing him a black cube. Then he was running, running, running, shot at, falling and sending out sparks that animated the various human machines, running up the stairs as the master pursued him, setting off the flare and about to hand off the Cube when the helicopter was shot down, and crawling out on the pillar as he defied the master, before the flail sweeping down, and falling, and pain and fading vision, before he woke on Optimus Prime's inert chassis, no longer able to speak. His hair began showing white at the roots the next day.

Then the pressure on his head moved slightly. A few moments later, Megatron's grip moved from holding him down to picking him up and laying him against that massive, warm shoulder as his back was stroked.

"Spark energy," Shockwave raged. "That abomination has spark energy! That's why he doesn't die, why he heals. The spark must be removed and set into a proper chassis, Master!"

"You would only destroy the spark," Soundwave said, but Megatron could see that he was shaken. "He was given a spark by the Cube before Optimus Prime destroyed it, the first new spark given in hundreds of vorns. He is but a sparkling, only a few vorns old. And the means you used to-punish-" Megatron had not seen Soundwave show that much emotion to anyone but his own offspring.

"Master, you soiled yourself with this blasphemy?" Sam, with his head pounding, heard his worst nightmare approaching and clutched at Megatron. A sob escaped him.

"Enough!" Megatron slammed his free hand down on the desk with a sound like a thunderclap. Sam started violently, but the other two shut up as Megatron stroked Sam's back to calm him. "Sam is mine and nothing changes that, spark or no. Shockwave, are you questioning the choice of the All-Spark? Or my own?" His voice dropped into the purr Sam recognized from the rooftop, the one that promised mayhem if he was not appeased immediately.

"No, master, of course not." Shockwave knew that purr very well.

"I did not think so. Soundwave, the punishment has not been repeated. I gave my pet my word that I would not hurt him like that again, and I have kept it. And Sam is mine, as your children are yours."

Soundwave was still a moment, before he said, "As you say, Master."

" Keep this matter quiet until I tell you differently. Shockwave, return to your laboratory until I send you elsewhere. You will not approach Sam at any time unless I am present and give you permission. Do you understand?" Shockwave assented in his normal cold way and left. "Soundwave, I will seek your advice should I need it. You are dismissed." Soundwave bowed and left. Sam relaxed as he heard the door close. Megatron continued to stroke Sam's back as he relaxed. As he fell into blessed sleep, he heard his master mutter, "No one tells me what to do with what's mine."


	5. A youngling in a inappropriate shell.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Decepticons react to a human having a spark, but Sam still has human needs. Megatron ensures all of them are met- and all of them get a surprise.   
> Warning- R-rated holo/human sex. You have been warned.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do not own Transformers but I wish I did.

 

Megatron remembered a section in Sam's datapad files where his pet wrote about how ripples in a puddle spread out and affected every part of it eventually. The news that Megatron's pet possessed a spark brought out a wide range of reactions. 

When Sam woke after the interogation and scan, Megatron sent him to finish his chores. Sam nodded, relieved by the normal request. He emerged from his pet door several hours later with damp hair. He took care to choose one of the outfits Megatron preferred, a charcoal grey. When Megatron lifted him to the desk, he put a datapad by Sam and said, "Jetfire knows how to read your writing. He sent me the file. " He made a hologram of the look on Sam's face to enjoy later; it was priceless. "How much do you remember of  yesterday?" Sam wrote that when Soundwave got out of his mind he had a terrible headache and only understood that Shockwave wanted to do something to him and that Megatron refused to let him. "Soundwave confirmed two things for me. One, that you have not betrayed me in all the time I claimed you." Sam nodded. "He also stated that you woke on Optimus Prime's dead chassis. Shockwave scanned you and was upset by what he found. Hook is going to scan you again and see if he finds the same thing."

Hook came in, grumbling as usual. Megatron saw Sam looking behind Hook hopefully. "I left Volt with Scrapper and his female," Hook said to Sam, who looked disappointed. "Master?"

"I need for you to do a deep scan on Sam and tell me what you find. Shockwave already has, and I want to see if you agree." Hook vented air, and started his scan. He looked at Megatron, and scanned again. Then he froze and crashed to the floor. Sam raced over to the edge of the desk and looked down at the Constructicon before looking at Megatron with wide eyes.

"He's in stasis from shock," Megatron told his pet. "He'll come out of it on his own. "

Just them Starscream stormed into the office. Sam ran over and jumped in Megatron's lap. "Is it true?" the seeker demanded, before tripping over Hook and landing on top of him. Sam snickered silently against Megatron's chasis. "What in the name of Primus is this fool doing on the floor?" he complained as he got up.

Just then Hook groaned and sat up. "I don't believe it," the Constructicon surgeon said. Megatron could tell he was reviewing his scan results again. "Master, your pet has a spark? How?" Megatron told them what he and Soundwave pieced together.

"We must move the spark into a proper frame," Starscream said.

"No," Hook countered. "It's too immature to be moved now. It has to mature and stabilize first, which will take two or three more vorns at the least. But Primus, Master! A spark in a slave's body- what he must have gone through before you found him!" Hook pretended not to care about humans, but he always kept at least one pet slave around. They always possessed a useful skill, but Megatron noticed that most came from abusive situations. 

"Then we have to teach him now what he needs to know to be a true Cybertronian before the time comes to move the spark," Starscream said. Megatron and Hook both looked at him in shock. "What? He might be an organic but he has a spark! The first youngling we've had in how many vorns?" Megatron heard that Seekers could obsess over new sparks, but until today he never saw that with his own optics. He sent the two out arguing over whether Sam was a sparkling or a youngling- Hook held that the spark was only three vorns old, so the carrier had to be a sparkling, while Starscream argued that the human was a youngling human and had been treated as a human youngling for vorns, and therefore had to be considered a youngling for training needs.

The writing on the datapad looked terribly sloppy, and Sam used a lot of obsolete slang. Jetfire and Megatron managed to piece together enough to get  a human's perspective on the takeover of Earth. Sam grieved over the loss of his race's civilization. They learned a great deal about the abuse that some of his men inflicted on their helpless human charges. The neglect and abuse aimed at humans annoyed Megatron when he thought of the resourced wasted.  When he considered that abuse happening to a youngling with a spark, he felt sick and grateful that Sam survived with an intact processor. 

While his pet often lamented his race's lost civilization, he knew that no one could change the past. The Decepticons were here, the Autobots were enslaved from trying to stop them, and there was no way to defeat them here and now.He aimed instead at bettering the situation of the humans left. He saw Megatron as their best hope of that improvement, if the Decepticon leader could be brought to see humans as valuable resources instead of disposable ones. Recalling the difference in costs from his changes, Megatron admitted to a grudging respect for Sam's sense and his goal to help the humans by proving better treatment meant enhancing the Decepticon bottom line.

But as he cleared his desk of the  necessary administrative debris that every government produces, Megatron let his processor turn over the possibilities that opened now that he knew Sam held a spark. Over the last vorn, he came to depend on Sam's company, and dreaded the time Sam would die like all humans did. When he found Sam did not age or die like most humans, he felt cautiously relieved- if Sam was not a traitor or spy of some kind, then he did not have to fear losing his companion. But now? As a pet, Sam became his valuable companion. With a spark- so many more possibilities opened. 

He felt like the lowest piece of scrap when he read what Sam felt after his punishment. He could not erase what he did, but he resolved to regain Sam's trust fully. In the meantime, he planned how to train Sam for his ultimate place in life at Megatron's side.

Sam understood that the All-Spark gave him a Cybertronian spark before Optimus destroyed it. He watched in stunned bewilderment as his life changed completely. He went from being tolerated as Megatron's pet to being cherished and fussed over as a youngling in a terribly inappropriate shell. 

Soundwave gave lessons in Cybertronian while Starscream taught science and math. He loved history; Jetfire told facinating stories. Megatron remained his master, but more in the sense of being a mentor than being his owner.  Soundwave agreed with Starscream that Sam's human heritage made him a youngling and not a sparkling, and they based their treatment on that judgement.  He remained Megatron's constant companion, for his own protection.  Sam spent his time on Megatron's desk studying. When he wrestled with a particularly hard problem, he wondered if the boredom was better.

One change bothered him, With the exception of Jetfire, the mechs limited his human contact. When Megatron traveled to space, Starscream, Soundwave, or one of Soundwave's cassette checked on him instead of Hook or Scrapper. Even Jetfire kept him occupied in the archive building most of the time. Sam desperately missed human contact. Finally he approached Megatron on the matter. "You need to learn to be a Cybertronian," Megatron told him.

_But I still have a human body_ , Sam pleaded through the datapad.  _I still have human needs, like eating and peeing. I need to see people sometimes until you kill me to get the spark._

"When your spark is moved to a different form, your memories will be copied into the processor first, and the person that you are will still be alive," Megatron told him patiently. "Only the body will change."

_I need some human contact or I'm going go crazy._

"We will deal with that problem when it happens," Megatron said, frowning. "You know better than to argue with me." He put his youngling in the cage. When Sam banged on the  walls to annoy,  the Decepticon leader said, "If you want to stay there and get only the slave ration for a week, keep that up." Sam quit and sulked. After a few hours, the cage opened and he lifted Sam back on the desk. When the youngling showed he finished his homework and understood his most recent lessons, Megatron put him down to go do his chores. "I'll want to be polished tonight," the master said, trying to make a peace offering.

Sam did the work as his mind went in circles and his meal cooked. While he enjoyed the changes in his circumstances, he feared losing his humanity.

During his first years with Megatron he endured periods of depression over his status as a toy. The incident with Helix taught Sam that could bring Megatron's attention to matters and make a difference to his fellow humans. Knowing his ordeal helped his fellow humans enabled Sam to work through his feelings. But better than anyone, Sam knew that given time, isolation, and constant pressure brought changes. Decepticons had their name for a reason.

If Megatron told him the truth about the change from a human body to a Cybertronian one, Sam would keep all his human memories. He could do far more for the slaves then. In the meantime, he could pass on everything he knew to Jetfire's people as often as he could, and give the archivist all the information in his diaries.

Feeling much better, he ate his dinner and pulled out the datapad he used in his apartment. Starscream gave it to him for personal use because it was defective; the download connection broke past repair. Sam slipped it in with this other homework datapads and left it in his room for his personal use. He was making notes when Megatron came in, but he put the datapad away when he heard the door open and went out, to his master's waiting hand. "It's all right, my little one," the master murmured. "I'll be sure you get what you need." Sam leaned his head against Megatron's chest, where he could feel the Decepticon leader's spark thrumming.

The next day, Megatron made a suprise inspection at a factory that was having a lot of accidents due to malfunctioning machinery. Sam's diaries noted that Swindle and his associates engineered accidents to cover the theft of slaves and goods; Megatron wanted to see the machinery before it was replaced. Sam rode his shoulder as he talked to the assistant manager. Though frightened at first, the assistant found the reports, and began showing his leader the plant, and where the accidents occurred.

Megatron let Sam down absently as he looked at the broken machinery. Sam slid over to the female slaves standing against the walls with their heads down in respect. He listened as they murmured to each other as they watched, talking about how something in the machine made a grinding noise and threw metal everywhere, killing several but not as many as the reports said. They wondered if they would be one of the ones that went with the new mech, who frightened them. Sam came back over and climbed into the huge crack. The assistant glanced at his master, wondering, but Megatron held a hand up and waited until Sam came back out. When he asked for a datapad with hand motions, the assistant looked on in puzzled wonder. Sam drew some gears and a picture of something wedged between them with notes in the human cursive writing that only Megatron understood.

"Where is your superior?" Megatron asked the assistant. The answer was a shout and a shot. "Swindle!" Megatron shouted as Sam caught a glimpse of purple breastplate with another grey mech and dove back into the machine as  a firefight broke out. Sam heard the sound of human screams and more firing, before the floor shook with Megatron's running footsteps. He ventured out and went to the group of sobbing women. One was dead. Several moaned over injuries. Sam got them moving to the kitchens, where he commandeered vinegar, soap, boiling water, and rags. He made sewing motions to one of the unhurt women. "Mender with thread?" she asked, and he nodded. By the time Megatron found him, he  stitched up the worst of the cuts and made a painkilling tea for the women. 

That night, he went to bed as soon as they got back. The fight and its aftermath left him exhausted, and the sight of Swindle brought back memories.

" _Keep them working until they drop," he heard that smooth voice tell the slavemasters. The slaves had already worked for fourteen hours in stifling heat. Some had dropped. "I can always find more if some of them die. I've got a shipment promised, and all of you will get extra if we get it to them early." The slavemasters agreed in greedy delight and whips snaked out-_

He woke sweating. A dream, he thought, looking at the shadows of his familiar apartment. It was only a dream. Then a hand stroked across his back. For a split second his eyes started to close at the gentle touch, before reality hit and he threw himself out of the bed with a silent scream. Rolling to his feet, he turned to see Megatron's holoform sitting on the bed. He cringed, shaking in panic. Nothing happened. When he dared to look up, he found Megatron sitting on the bed, waiting for him to calm down. "Sam," Megatron said. "I was trying to help you. I've been calming you in your sleep like this for some time." He went to the bed and opened a blanket. "Come."

Slowly, step by step, Sam moved to the bed and lay on the blanket. Megatron wrapped him in it and spooned them together. "It's all right," he murmured, as Sam slowly relaxed into the warm gentle embrace, reassured by the layer of cloth between him and Megatron.

Then the holoform hands moved from the blanket . "I do love the way your skin feels," the holoform Megatron murmured. Sam pushed the roaming hands away, and found his arms and legs pinned. "I am your master," Megatron said, in a voice full of iron. "You will not defy me." For a moment Sam stayed rigid, before he deliberately relaxed. Megatron loosened his grip. Sam breathed for a moment, knowing that if he did not handle this right, this night would turn into hell again. Slowly, he reached up and slid his hands under the holoform's arms and placed them on the shoulders. "Very good, my little one," the holoform said, and released his human. A sob got past Sam. "Hush, my sweet," Megatron breathed in his ear. "I promised I would not hurt you again, and I will not." Then his hands moved again, exploring the skin he tended so carefully. "I promised I would give you what you need. You said you needed contact. I am here for you."

I've been alive for more than three vorns, Sam thought. How many times had they tried to breed him as a work slave? How many times had Megatron trolled women in front of him hoping he would breed? How many times had other boys approached him in the camps? In the course of three normal human lifetimes, Sam felt no interest in sex. A few times he managed to fake it, not so much for pleasure as for the comfort of human closeness.

Now his body reacted to the feeling of those strong holoform hands sliding over him. Somehow Megatron knew where to touch him so that he arched into the caresses, his hands gripping the wide shoulders. His heart raced and his breath quicken under those touches, under the strong hands that stroked him with such tenderness.  New sensation raged through him, until everything in him rushed into a sweet, intense climax that moved from between his legs to glow in his chest. The holoform vanished, as Megatron groaned from his berth. Sam curled into his blanket before sleep claimed him.

  
  



	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do not own Transformers except in some very wistful daydreams  
> Warning: mild holoform/human sex, mention of torture. The name of the Decepticon is a suggestion by nessus

Megatron woke the next morning feeling rested and refreshed. For a time he enjoyed his good mood. His optics fell on the apartment, and he remembered. Sam started making his pain noises. Instead of settling back into sleep when Megatron patted his back, he woke. Remembering that Sam said he needed contact, Megatron coaxed him back to the bed. His holoform looked like a human. Maybe that was enough to satisfy this need for human contact Sam complained about. Sam's terror annoyed him; he promised never to hurt him that way again and he never intended to! But once his human with a spark settled, Megatron found he enjoyed stroking the soft skin. Sam's reaction amused him. Then he overloaded, and Megatron overloaded with him. 

Well, he knew he fulfilled one need. Now he had a prisoner to interrogate. On his orders, Shockwave held Swindle on the moon. By this time the thief should be nicely softened up. He got up, noting that Sam finished his chores and paced.  Sam still wore his work clothes, the ones Megatron disliked. Usually while Megatron inhabited his quarters, Sam dressed in his good clothes and stayed alert to Megatron's every move. Today, he never noticed that his master rose. "Sam," he said. The boy jerked violently. "I must go to the moon. You will stay with Jetfire while I am gone. He and Starscream will continue your lessons while you are there. Pack and get dressed. " At clear instructions, Sam calmed. He disappeared into his apartment, emerging dressed suitably and with a bundle before Megatron completed making arrangements for Sam's care. Subspacing the bundle, the master picked up his charge and headed outside. He transformed into his jet mode and dropped Sam off at Jetfire's village before he headed for space.

Swindle was chained in a cell deep in Shockwave's lab. The strongest set of chains held his elbows together behind his back. "I'm not going to tell you anything without a deal," he rasped.

"Why, no," Megatron purred. "This is the first day of the rest of what I intend to be a long, productive life for you. Shockwave, give the mech a lift." He got this idea from some of the pictures Sam drew on his datapad; he liked the idea of this mech enduring some of the hell Sam had. When Swindle  screamed for a time, Megatron put him down and began asking questions. Swindle talked. When Soundwave detected a lie, he rose again for a time. By the end of the interrogation, one of his shoulders hung wrong at an odd angle.

Shockwave went in and yanked it back into place . "If you give any more trouble, I'll dislocate it again," he told Swindle. The black marketeer only nodded, far too worn to speak.Megatron sent the prisoner to a high security brig on Earth with Soundwave. Swindle sold his good in space, where most of his customers lived.  Megatron began random  surprise inspections at his space stations. The settlements on Mars and the mines on the asteroids thrived, manned by Decepticons who disliked organics.  The space bases reported sightings that came to nothing when investigated. Megatron frowned over those reports. Finally he checked on the Autobots.

"You could be working at the surface, with the best of everything available to you," he told Ratchet. "The best grade of energon, your choice of quarters, and regular access to washracks. All you have to do is agree to lose this." He tapped the Autobot symbol. "I won't even  force you to take my brand. It's been vorns, medic. They've abandoned you." Ratchet only cursed. Megatron left him in the underground infirmary where Ratchet treated the lower ranked solders. The Decepticon received similar reactions from the others, who mined raw energon from the area below where the Cube originally landed. He vented and toured their quarters. They got the same energon rations as his soldiers and similar quarters, but he kept them carefully guarded. 

Stubborn fools, he mused as he picked up Sam. "I haven't had a decent polish since I left for space," Megatron complained as they reached his quarters. "I missed you." He set Sam down. "Jetfire and Starscream gave good reports," he added from the washracks as Sam gathered the polishing and bathing materials. Sam nodded before he moved to Megatron's back to apply the polish and begin the buffing. "Primus, that feels good." The master talked about his trip to space as Sam worked. When Sam climbed out of his bath, helooked nervous. Megatron applied the sweet-smelling lotion as he usually did, talking about what they got from Swindle, but not how. Sam relaxed with the familiar comfort. As Megatron wrapped Sam in the towel, he said, "You don't have to worry about Swindle again, Sam. He won't be stealing or tormenting humans again." Sam smiled sleepily as Megatron put him in his bed. The Decepticon leader went to his berth and lay down.

He waited until his human was deeply asleep. Then the holoform appeared and slipped into the bed beside his charge. Fingers ghosted lightly over the soft skin, stroking an arm; when his human remained asleep, Megatron moved his hand further, over the chest and flat belly, and down.

Sam stirred and sighed under his hands before gradually coming awake. For a moment he lay quiet.  Then he struggled. Megatron pinned him down. "Do you think you can fight me and win?" he breathed into his ear. Sam went stiff and still under him. "Who do you belong to?" he asked. Sam reached up and laid a shaking hand on the holoform's cheek. Megatron took the hand and kissed it. A tremor ran through the boy's body at the touch. "I won't hurt you, my little one," Megatron said gently, releasing the boy from his grip and easing beside him instead. He ran his hand over Sam's chest. "I felt your release, here, in your spark," he stroked the boy's chest. "You brought me with you. I thought I would have to wait until you had your new body for that." He touched Sam's face, and found wetness. He leaned over and tenderly licked the tears away. "You're mine, now and always. " He moved until they were both comfortable. "Now," he murmured, "let's explore this, shall we?"

Several days later, Soundwave and Shockwave came for a meeting to discuss the rest of the information Soundwave got from Swindle and the early results from Shockwave's investigations. "About a third of the stolen material he sold to our people," Soundwave stated. "Mostly small luxuries. The rest                  he sold in space, to various parties. He did not care why they wanted the slaves or the materials. He believes that most of them are neutrals intent on building shelters in scattered areas. "

"Hmm," Megatron said thoughtfully. "Shockwave, your current priority is to find out who these people are. There may be an opportunity to expand here. Shockwave, is there more to get from that piece of slag?"

"No, Master. I suggest he be publicly executed as an example," Soundwave said. Megatron considered the matter. Black marketing was not going to stop, but making an example of Swindle should slow it down.

Just then Sam peeked out from his pet door. "Come, little one," Megatron said, and Sam came over, eyeing Shockwave warily. As Sam tugged in the drawer that held his datapad, his master told him, "We are debating how to punish Swindle now that we've interrogated him. Any suggestions?"

Sam got the datapad out of the drawer and wrote something on it. "In Cybertronian," Soundwave told him, in that language. Sam thought for a time, then wrote carefully and presented the datapad. Both Soundwave and Shockwave read the tablet. "Crude, but readable," the language teacher commented. "We will work on that in your next lesson. "

"The idea has merit," Shockwave said "He learns more quickly that I would think." Megatron gave a snort of laughter at the surprise on Sam's face, before putting him down with the datapad and telling him to study in his apartment.

"Putting the slagger in the mines for a few years would be the most use we ever got out of Swindle," Megatron agreed. Sam suggested that they put him in the mines with the minimum of rations to keep him alive and beat him to keep him working, the way the slaves were treated he treated slaves in his mines. Megatron made arrangements. Rumors soon slipped around about Swindle's sentence, told in horrified private coms. Respect for the master rose.

Shockwave's spies eventually traced the sales to the final destination of the materials. He made his report to his master on his next visit to space after he got the information. " _Prime_?" Megatron said in disbelief. "What Prime?"

Trtr

Sam lay still on his bed and rested.  Sam's chest hurt if he moved too soon after Megatron left. He felt the spark all the time now, a warm glowing in his chest. All of the mechs found it in a scan instead of just Shockwave and Hook. They looked at him with approval, spoke gently to him, and brought him treats, just the way they would a youngling of their own kind. When Megatron took him places, the supervisors kept an optic on him without being asked.

When he woke up from the first overload, he wondered why he felt so relaxed. Then he remembered. He got out of bed and pulled in a work outfit. Megatron hated these, but they were comfortable, and he did not have to worry about stains. He set the sheets to soak as he moved through his chores. His thoughts ran in circles. 

Were Soundwave and Starscream right? They told him he was not human. "The human died in Optimus Prime's hand," Starscream told him. "You have a spark with the misfortune of being in the wrong body. " He pointed out how long Sam lived and how he healed. "When the spark is in a proper body, you'll understand," the flyer went on.

Soundwave pointed out how quickly and well he was learning, especially Cybertronian. "The spark knows where it comes from," he said. "You will remember everything from your human life. By the time you mature fully, it will be an old file, and will not matter."

The work ended too soon, and he paced, his mind going in circles. Did he lose his soul when he died the first time, only to have his body reanimated by the spark the dying Cube gave him? He paced, too disturbed to notice Megatron until the master called him. 

The trip to Jetfire's village was quiet, as both of them were preoccupied. When he climbed down from Megatron's jet mode, the master said, "Behave for Jetfire, Sam, and he will allow you to spend some time with his pets. " Sam hurried out of the way, waved as Megatron took off, and turned to head into Jetfire's domain. He found the archivist swearing over some retrieval problem.

"Ah, Sam. I should watch my language, that's not the kind of Cybertronian you need to learn."

_I can't repeat it_ , Sam told him with the datapad.

"Cybertronian," the old Seeker admonished. "How come that Shockwave never built you a vocalizer?"

_He tried. I put it on and it shorted as soon as I said anything. Startscream said he should know better than to experiment with a human who had a spark._

"Guess I should be grateful right now. I never know a youngling yet that didn't let out something he wasn't supposed to hear, usually at the exact worst moment. "He did not miss the way Sam's shoulders sagged. "Come, little one," he said, picking Sam up and putting him on the table. "Tell this old fart what's wrong." Sam smiled for a brief moment at the deliberate joke.

_I felt my spark for the first time last night. It scared me._

"Ah. " Sam considered a moment, and made his request to teach as much as he could before he became Cybertronian. "I'll take you up on that, but while you are going to lose that organic body, youngling, the person that you are is not going to die. "

So while Megatron, Soundwave and Shockwave interrogated Swindle and traced he sold his stolen goods and slaves, Sam worked with Jetfire to build an infirmary. Using everything he ever learned in his lifetime and an aunt who was the closest thing to a healer anyone had in miles, and what Jetfire dug out of the archives, they put together a manual of first aid and an herbal picture book with instructions both drawn and written in Cybertronian. Hook fought his curiosity as long as he could before showing up with three of the Constructicon's pets. With Jetfire, they gathered plants and seeds. Sam taught his first class to the people of Jetfire's villag.  Jetfire translated Sam's writing for the students. By the time Megatron returned from space, Jetfire and his people had a small infirmary set up.

In those busy days, Sam came to terms with what happened that night. He believed Megatron had no idea that his spark reacted with his body, and assumed it would be a one-time experience. When his bath and massage ended as usual, he went to sleep feeling much better-

-only to wake up with the holoform stroking him. After Megatron slapped down his attempt at resistance, he tried not to respond. Some time later he lay spent and alone, his spark glowing in his chest.

Megatron returned to his bed every few weeks. The sex never went further than touch.  His pleasure depended on Sam's, so he treated his lover with great tenderness. Sometimes he only held his lover to comfort him after a nightmare or a particularly bad day. The Decepticon leader talked a lot about what would happen after Sam went into a Cybertronian body. Soon he realized that Megatron never intended to let him go, that he intended to keep Sam with him once he "upgraded" into a "proper chassis." The idea of being tied to Megatron for the eons a Cybertronian lived worried him. Would he be able to be the good influence he hoped or would he only be Megatron's bitch for the rest of his very extended life?

When Sam explained the reason for the infirmary, he provided funding and allowed Sam to continue helping Jetfire with the human infirmary, teaching interested mechs and chosen humans. Even with only the rough field medicine Sam knew and simple techniques Jetfire and he dug out of the human archives, the death toll for wounded or sick humans dropped considerably. Megatron hinted that he would allow Sam be a medic for humans if he would learn with Hook. Hook agreed to take him on when his instructors said he was ready. It made Sam feel better about his future. 

He knew something was going on that Megatron did not want him to hear the slightest whisper of. Megatron sent him out of the office more often, and dropped him off with Jetfire more frequently. He wanted to know where Sam was every astrosecond. They were in the mines one afternoon when Megatron was investigating an accident.  While the master listened to the reports, Sam started to squirm. Megatron hissed in annoyance but put him down. "Don't go far," Megatron told him, "and try to find something to cover the smell."

 Sam nodded and waited until the discussion began again. Then he slipped around the corner. When he finished what he needed to do, he walked a little further down. He saw where the rockfall happened. The light was very poor, and he tripped over a rock. He put his hand out to catch himself on the wall, only to find it did not exist. He fell on his face and pushed himself up to see blue optics.

Autobot, his mind chanted as he scrambled up. This is how Megatron's been using them. Something's going on. He put a finger over his lips and stepped closer to see who it was. He saw a hint of yellow. Bumblebee? he thought. Squatting down quickly, he drew glyphs on the floor, knowing Cybertronian eyes would see them. He heard Megatron shout his name.  I am going to be in for it, he thought, but I owe Bumblebee, he saved me from Barricade. He wrote quickly, and moved, hurrying until he heard a voice say, "There's a spark signature here." Then he started to cough.

"There you are!" he heard before he saw two sets of red optics and hands scooped him up. "Here's the spark you noticed, Skirmish. Now start that hunt again. Sam, you are on slave rations until I say different!"

Sam whined and wrote on Megatron's shoulder,  _I took the wrong turn and got lost!_   _You said to cover the smell!_ As he complained, they headed out of the mine. Sam could only hope that Bumblebee managed to get out.

That night and for over a week, the holoform held him all night. Sam had no objections; he felt safe when Megatron stayed with him. At the same time, Megatron got poor recharge. Eventually he calmed down, but he remained very paranoid regarding Sam. In the meantime, Sam went on a quiet hunt for information on the Autobots. He owed them. Now the human race was enslaved, but that would not last forever. If Megatron got hold of the Cube that fateful day, there would be no humans or Autobots left alive today. So Sam used his homework datapad to find out where Ratchet and the other Autobots  worked. To his surprise, Ratchet was the only one left. All Decepticons considered him a valuable resource but a dangerous one. They moved the infirmary and Ratchet to a new site; Sam reviewed the information on his datapad and obliterated it. He remembered everything he saw now; he could pull it up again if he needed it.

Megatron left him at Jetfire's not long afterward for over a month. Megatron only said he was going to space, and Jetfire kept Sam busy with finding more information in the archives for the infirmary. When Megatron came to pick him up, the master was tired and dirty. Supplies for Sam were waiting at the door to Megatron's quarters; the master held the door open while Sam carried everything inside. At one point Megatron asked, "Did you feel something?" Sam only shrugged and gave him a questioning look. "I'm more tired than I thought," the master complained. Sam  got out the cleaning and polishing supplies without being told. "I missed you," Megatron sighed as Sam cleaned him up. "We were trying to chase down some kind of signal that the satellites were catching."

This time Megatron did not put the lotion on him before he set Sam in his bed. The holoform brought it with him. He took his time massaging it into Sam's soft skin, before using the lotion on one part of Sam's body that hardened rather than softened as he stroked it. Sam buried his head in the holoform's neck, gripped his shoulders, and pressed against the hand, begging for more. Megatron laughed as he teased his lover. "Missed me, did you?" he asked. Sam nodded. "Who do you belong to?" Sam reached up to stroke his cheek. "Yes, " Megatron growled, "mine. Mine." Moments later, Sam lay alone in his bed, with the blanket pulled sloppily over him. He stayed still, letting the afterglow (he thought idly how accurate that term was, considering the spark) and the mild soreness that followed it fade. He got up, pulled his private datapad out and slipped on a light shirt and pants. When Megatron remained still, he knew that his master was in a deeper recharge than usual.

He walked over to the empty corner of the room, and poked a little. When he touched something warm, he sat down and drew a map to where Ratchet was being held, the coordinates, and the security details. He added a note asking the spy if he enjoyed the show and asking him to leave Sam alone as Megatron might begin a human slaughter if he suspected his pet tried to leave him. Then he went back to bed. Debt repaid, he thought, and went to sleep.

Sometime that night he had the weirdest dream. He thought that he was being cradled by a Cybertronian, but it was too small to be Megatron. He knew it was a Cybertronian because he could feel the spark thrumming. He moved, trying to wake up. Then something went over his face. Now he struggled, but the hand held firm, and blackness enveloped him again.

 


	7. Sudden Changes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sam is kidnapped, Megatron is sick, and Soundwave wonders.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do not own Transformers (sigh).

The first scouting party completed their mission perfectly, bring back the precious cargo with no casualties and few wounded. They received information from an unexpected source. With it, they completed all but one of the secondary missions. They eliminated one target and incapacitated two of the others. It was worth breaking the cover and retrieving their agent and his responsibilities, and worth risking revealing their base.

Sam woke and discovered he lay on some kind of bed. Nausea gripped him, and he leaned over the side of the bed to be completely and thoroughly sick. Fortunately, someone expected that and put a bucket by the bed. Eventually he got down to dry heaves. After what seemed like forever, the nausea eased, and he dared to roll onto his back. He turned his head back and forth, taking in his surroundings. He lay in some kind of clear enclosure which in turn stood in a huge empty room that held a few berths and some kind of machinery. He saw something like a toilet in a corner, and hoped there was some water somewhere he could use to rinse his mouth.

Why was he here? Couldn't that damned Autobot spy read? When he went back to bed, he thought the glitched idiot got the message! He couldn't have just left the situation well enough alone and gone to get Ratchet the way he was supposed to? No, with no clear idea of the situation, the damned fool just had to bring the poor abused pet with him, getting him out of the hands of the big bad Decepticon. Please God, Primus or any other deity that might be listening, he prayed, let there be some sign of a struggle, or let somebody see that I was unconscious, or something. He did not want to think of what would happen with the slave population of Earth if Megatron thought his charge/lover left him willingly. Well, there was nothing he could do about that at this moment.

Cautiously he sat up, slid to the side of the bed, and got out.He hoped that they stocked some kind of food for him or this was going to be an unpleasant trip. He discovered water and the toilet and used both, rinsing the bucket so he would not have to deal with the smell. He went back to the bed feeling somewhat better. He lay down for a time to let the nausea pass completely and fell asleep again.

This time when he woke, he felt much better. There was still no one in the room. Acting from habit, he folded the blanket he woke in and placed it at the head of the bed. Then he looked in the chest by the water container. Sure enough, he found the ration that resembled bread and some dried fruit, pretty similar to what he ate at home. As he chewed and swallowed, he began to wonder if he was wrong and there was some kind of fight before he was taken away. Would he have slept through something that major?

Adding up the memory of something over his face, his deep sleep, and how sick he was when he woke, he thought he'd been drugged somehow. He doubted a human anesthetic sat in a spy's subspace in case he needed it, so this kidnapping was planned, not spur of the moment. Was this someone other than the Autobots?

Well, he was not going to find anything out sitting here thinking. He evaluated his cage. Careful exploration of the walls failed to reveal a door or any other opening. He stood on the bed and explored as high as he could reach, moving it to each of the walls. Finally he put the chest that held his food on the bed. Instead of a ceiling, he found the top of the wall. With considerable effort he lifted himself over the wall, perched on the top and looked around. Looking around, he decided he was in a lab or infirmary. There was some kind of instrument he could climb on to get down.

Soon after, he panted on the floor as he dealt with the pain in his legs and hands from hanging onto the top of the wall and then from knocking his legs against the instrument as he climbed down. He edged against the nearest wall and began to check out the larger room. When he felt he knew the room well enough to hide or get back to the cage, he ventured out into the hall, staying close to the wall. There were several doors, and he slipped from one to another, listening for voices of any kind. After about two hours, he found all of nothing except an empty hall and closed doors, and was about to head back to the cage for another boring meal when a door opened. He turned to see a black and white 'bot about the size of Ratchet.

"Well, hello there," he said in Cybertronian, crouching down to get a better look at Sam. Then he cursed softly and repeated himself in the common slave language. "I'm Streetwise. You must be one of the new humans that came with Jetfire. How did you get all the way over here from the human quarters?" Sam lifted his head, pointing to the scar on his throat and moved his mouth. "Oh, you can't talk?" Sam nodded vigorously." Well, since you're lost, I'll take you back over there. Don't stray again, all right? I could have stepped on you." The Autobot picked him up and began walking. Sam took note of the route carefully.

The Autobot lifted a lid that turned out to be the entrance to the 'human quarters." Hey, Brisk?" Streetwise said, "I found this one wandering the halls. Make sure it doesn't happen again, all right?"

Brisk gave Sam an appraising look, but only said, "I'll go over the rules with him." When the ceiling went down, she said to Sam, "Most of the new masters here are kinder than the ones back home, almost as good as Jetfire, but they seem to think all of us are children. You're not supposed to be here, are you?" He shrugged. "Well, he put you here, and that's not our problem anymore, is it? Let's get you sorted out. "

For about a month Sam stayed in the human compound, working in the compound itself to cook, clean, and help the parents of the youngest children. He avoided all mech contact, which was easy as he was not on their roster. He treasured the time with his own kind, knowing it could never last.

All the humans from the village knew him, and all of them wanted him around as he was easily the best cook any of them knew. Better, having him there meant that they did not have to rotate cleaning the communal rooms, only their own clothes and bedrooms.

"Farming here is different from farming at home," they told him. "The plants grow in water, or in a kind of sand." Hydroponics, Sam thought. That explains the variety of food they have available. They were munching on mixed roasted soybeans and peanuts. "These are good, Sam." Sam smiled and nodded at the compliment. . "They said that they need us to help grow food for all the humans they have, and they have a lot. They have the children tending the plants, just like at home, but they want us do it so they can teach the children for work that is harder to learn to do. We are learning how to do the work while we go to the place that has the bigger fields. "

"The humans that are already here do mostly factory work, from what the mechs say," one of the men said. "Making small parts that it's hard for the mechs to make themselves."

"It's not harder, just different," Brisk noted. "They tell us that we'll be better off. They want us to teach the other humans how to live as a village like we do. They said they want us to learn not to be slaves like we were with the Deceptions, and that the children will learn to be independent of the mechs altogether. The big one said that once they have their world fixed, they'll find us a planet to live on without any masters at all." Sam liked that idea, as did most of the others, but a lot of them had an "I'll believe it when I see it" attitude. "

One evening, as the adults were eating breakfast before going to the hydroponics farm, a mech lifted the ceiling of the common room. Brisk glanced at Sam and whispered, "I don't know him. Come out if you feel safe." She went to see what the mech wanted. Sam followed until he got a glimpse of the mech; then he stayed back. Brisk did not need to ask if there was a problem; Sam's face told her that. "Yes sir?" she asked, as the Autobots mechs taught her.

The compound shook as he slammed his fist on the ground nearby. " Be more respectful of your betters, slave! Tell me where the white-haired human is," the mech demanded.

"We have no human old enough to have white hair here," Brisk said. "All of the adults with Jetfire are coming out now to work, and you can see for yourself." Sam had to give her credit; she was telling the truth. Jetfire's people did not consider Sam to be truly human, though they did not envy him his long life. They knew about too much of it.

"I'll come back. When I do you will tell me where he is. Understand?"

"I understand," she said. The mech waited until all the adults were out of the compound. Sam slid into a closet in the children's room; a scan would show humans where they were supposed to be. Finally the ceiling went down.

Soon, one of the caretakers told him the mech was gone. Sam came out and began the work he usually did, but he was scared to his bones. What was Swindle doing here?

When the adults came back, they were chattering and animated. Sam had flatbread, peanut butter, and sliced vegetables for dinner. He had already eaten, in case Swindle came back. When he heard a mech respond to the human voices, terror sliced through him.

"Sam, come out," Jetfire called, and Sam blew out a breath in relief before heading for the back opening where the humans normally came in. "You've had half the mechs on this ship hunting for you. I wasn't here, or I would have told them where you were." Sam made his writing gesture. "When I have you back at the med bay, youngling. "

Brisk said, "Another master-"

"Say mech here. You are not slaves here," Jetfire scolded gently. He picked Sam up and held him against his chest. Sam felt the throbbing of the old Seeker's spark and relaxed.

"Sorry, mas-sir. Another mech asked for Sam today. He acted like the masters back home, so we did not let Sam go, but he would be back. What do I tell him?" The others flowed past them, heading for the dinner table. She heard happy exclamations as the others discovered the peanut butter and flatbread, and yelled, "Save some for me!"

"You did well. Tell him the truth. I took him. When Sam tells me more I'll know what to do and I will tell you." She nodded and raced for the dining room. Sam looked back at the compound with longing clear on his face. "I'll bring you back unless there's a problem," he said as they headed away.

Within a short time, they were back in the room Sam slipped out of, but this time it was occupied. "Where have you been?" Ratchet demanded. Sam remembered him from those few days when he was seventeen, before Mission City. "I left you here sleeping off that sedative and the next time I come to check you're gone. Do you have any idea how much I worried that you were dying in some hole in the wall-"

"I told you he'd be with the others," Jetfire said. "What's more, someone took him there when he was caught wandering in the hall." He set Sam down on the berth closest to Ratchet. Sam made the writing gesture again. "All right, give me a moment."

"Why isn't he talking?" Ratchet asked. "Come here, Sam, let me look at you." Jetfire had the datapad out. Sam held up an index finger and wrote on the pad. "What are you doing?" He looked at the datapad. "That's Cybertronian!"

"He understands a lot of it too, so don't swear around him." He frowned at the note while Ratchet was absorbing that information. "You said you saw Swindle? You were sure?" Sam nodded, his face showing his dread.

Ratchet said, "What about Swindle? I know that at least one of that combiner team is dead."

"Swindle built a black market empire stealing slaves and material and running his own mines," Jetfire said grimly, "and the way his stolen slaves were treated made Megatron's supervisors look kind even before the reforms started. Sam was one for about five years, and those were the worst of his times as a slave. "Sam nodded vigorously. "If he's here, it's bad news, and if he's looking for Sam, it's worse. He's got to be working for somebody. He wouldn't do this on his own."

"Primus," Ratchet muttered. "I'll notify Prowl." Sam could tell he was talking by his com. "Prowl said that he'll have Security keep a camera on the human quarters until we can find him. They'll start a search now." He drew Sam away from the datapad firmly. "Now let me look at you." He cupped his hands around Sam and began his scan.

Then his optic dimmed and he listed. Jetfire smacked him, aborting the slid into stasis. "I told you," the Seeker said triumphantly. "I heard all the snark behind my back about energon deprivation making me senile."

"But Sam Witwicky was dead, I know he was, I saw him myself and there was no heartbeat, no brain waves-" Ratchet stopped. "I sound like Bluestreak," he muttered. "But I saw Sam Witwicky's dead body lying on Optimus Prime's chassis."

Sam pointed at the datapad, and Ratchet let him go. When we first met, you said something about how my smell said I wanted to mate with the girl.

"Yes, you're Sam," Ratchet said. "And yes, you have a spark." Sam nodded. "Bumblebee told me about how a human covered for him when he was hiding, and Mirage told me you gave him the information to find me. He went with the Prime, but he asked me to pass on his thanks until he can see you himself. And I thank you." Sam nodded.

If you didn't know I had the spark, why am I here? I told the spy not to bring me when I told him where you were.

"The Prime will explain that to you when he arrives. He had to look into something; we're waiting for him to return before we move on, "Ratchet said.

"I was with him for part of the trip, but he sent me back to help settle my village and you. It won't be much longer before he gets here. We'll find Swindle, but until we do, you're going to have to stay under guard." Sam made a face. "You can visit my people, youngling, but you can't stay there. Did you eat already?" He nodded.

"We made sure someone saw you being carried unconscious onto the ship," Ratchet added. "So they know you didn't come by choice. " Sam brightened a little and smiled, relieved. Before too much longer, he found himself back in the clear box. Sam whined. Ratchet sighed and set the datapad in the box with him. "Hit this if you need attention or want to get out," he said, pointing to one of the blank buttons. "It'll send out a signal to me. Someone will be here with you at all times, so sleep well."

Sam curled up on the comfortable bed and eventually went to sleep.

He was working outside this time, sorting the ore, when Swindle came through with the much larger mech. Sam kept his head down, listening as he worked. As he went by, Swindle lashed him. "Lazy organics need a taste of the whip to keep them going," he said with contempt.

"Poor little one," he heard, as someone picked him up. He opened his eyes to see Ratchet looking at him. "Having nightmares? Settle down, I'm here." He settled Sam on his shoulder and kept a hand there as he moved the bed into the berth. He put Sam on the bed again. "I'm right here. You're safe."

Sam eventually went to sleep, but he thought resentfully that Megatron would have gone to holoform and held him so he could sleep. He missed his master, and wondered how he was reacting to his pet's loss.

Trtr

"Master. Master. " The com was urgent. "Master, are you functional? " The Decepticon leader stirred slowly. He looked around and discovered that he was not in his berth, but in the med bay. Hook was checking some of his components. When Megatron managed to get upright, Hook looked both relieved and worried.

"What-"

"Let me make some tests, Master." Hook began running scans, while holding out some energon. Megatron sipped at it. It tasted awful. "I had to purge your system of some kind of poison. It put you into stasis and was beginning to damage your processor."

"How long have I been out?" The words came out slowly. His processor was moving at the speed of a human's, he thought groggily. If that fast. Something else was wrong; he could sense it, but his processor could not pin down what it was.

"Two days. I have contacted Soundwave to update you; I must go back to Starscream." With that the Constructicon surgeon left. Soundwave appeared almost immediately.

"What happened to Starscream?" Megatron asked. "Did he do this to me?"

"No, Master," Soundwave said, in his normal expressionless voice. "There were two attacks. One was on the compound where Swindle was being kept; he is gone. But that was separate from the main attack. I believe that an ally of his took advantage of the chaos. The most damage came from a coordinated Autobot attack. They moved against Shockwave and me at the same time. Starscream was investigating one of the fleeting hits we have on the network. He discovered a drone and tried to contact you directly. When he could not get through to any of us, he rushed back and attacked the Autobots as they were going onto their ship. Our reinforcements arrived in time to bring Starscream in before he deactivated but too late to stop them from leaving."

"We are following?" The response was automatic.

"We are searching for the space bridge, Master. We know they used it to leave but have not pinpointed its location at this time." Megatron could tell that Soundwave was disturbed.

"Space bridge?" Megatron said, some of the sludge clearing from his processor. "The Autobots have a working bridge, and they have used it for an attack. Starscream was badly damaged. I have been poisoned. "Megatron waited for his sluggish processor to process the disaster. Hook came in and checked on him, bringing more energon. "Where is Shockwave? Coordinating the defenses?"

"Shockwave is deactivated from an attack on the Moon by Maximus Prime to disable the perimeter defenses. I believe they poisoned you before they attacked; we tried to contact you and there was no response. The Autobot Bumblebee was not killed in the mine collapse as we thought. He led the rescue for Ratchet. I was at the medbay with Rumble trying to find out why he was in stasis, when Ravage discovered the poisoned energon. That is how Hook was able to deal with your damage as quickly as he did. Rumble is still recovering, but there will be some permanent effects. I was attacked, but because Rumble drank the poisoned energon first, I was not damaged. My unhurt children and I fought off the attack. "

"How did they find Ratchet?" Megatron asked, slamming his fist down on the berth. "We moved him on the possibility that the yellow glitch might have escaped, though we could never find him. How did they get that information?"

"I do not know. Only you, I and Shockwave had that information. "He paused, waiting. When Megatron waved him on impatiently, he added, "They took more than Ratchet. Jetfire and his entire village have disappeared. There are others missing, but I am still tracking down who is wounded and who is gone. Master, we know that they penetrated your quarters. I believe they did not attack Shockwave until after you were incapacitated. "

"They dared to come into my office and rummage through my desk-you said my quarters. " He almost came off the berth. "Sam! Did they dare to harm-"

"He was in stasis but otherwise unharmed when Starscream tried to retrieve him," Soundwave said.

Megatron roared, and tried to get up. Soundwave held him down long enough for Hook to rush in. Together they put him into enforced stasis. "How long before he is completely recovered?" Soundwave asked.

"I don't know. This is new. "Hook frowned. He did not say what was running through his processor, but Soundwave had no trouble picking it up. If Maximus Prime completed his plans, the Decepticons would be in total chaos, with their leadership totally disrupted. The Autobots could come back and deal with them at thier leisure. As it was, the loss of Shockwave, with Megatron and Starscream disabled for some time, left them weakened. The Autobots could have wiped out the Decepticons with a few more troops, but clearly they had one priority. Everything else they did was secondary to the capture of the youngling.

Why?


	8. Chaos

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Swindle attacks, Megatron finds out who poisoned him, and meets two Primes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do not own Transformers and I am jealous of who does.

 

 

While Hook filtered the energon in Megatron's system to remove the poison completely, Soundwave investigated Jetfire's home and discovered that all of his archives remained intact except for the backups. The slaves at the human infirmary  were not from the village. They said there were two days over which there was no one from the village at the infirmary. On the third day, there was a loud noise twice. When they went to investigate, the villagers and Jetfire were gone. Soundwave contacted Hook to take over running the infirmary and told him to do what he needed to keep the fields going to help feed the infirmary population until other arrangements could be made.

When going through Shockwave's quarters, which took heavy damage from the fight with Maximus Prime, they found the shell he and Starscream  created for Sam, complete. Hook and Soundwave agreed that by the end of the vorn, Sam's spark would be ready for his shell, and tailored his training to that goal. Megatron picked up the shell and took it to his quarters, laying it on top of Sam's apartment. He would see Sam go into the shell, he promised himself.

"We will take the space bridge," he growled. "We will take it, and get him back, and they will regret taking what is mine." Then, while his men searched for the space bridge, he threw himself into finding out who poisoned him and took Swindle.

Ravage traced the smell of the poison down to a cask of high quality energon reserved for the higher officers. Soundwave began questioning the delivery workers.  Flashblade tried to run, Ravage tracked him down and Megatron seized him. Soundwave  intervened on the mech's punishment. "Master, corpses are difficult to interrogate." Soon the mech wished Soundwave stayed quiet. When Flashblade choked out the last piece of information, Megatron killed him with a final thrust through the spark.

Scouts found the colony and Megatron led the raid. The mechs surrendered almost at once. These mechs fled the war long ago, and built this thriving colony.  Mostly scientists and artisians, they wanted to pursue their projects in peace. Then their current leader appeared and forced them to work for him under threat. "So," Megatron said grimly, "this is where that traitor went, all those vorns ago." The mech disliked their unwanted leader and talked readily. He discovered that the leader and his followers stole goods from the Autobots as well as the Decepticons. Their leader hated both factions equally. The mechs at the colony said that Swindle was trying to steal a piece of the All-Spark from the Autobots and was under orders to destroy it if he could not steal it. "There was something about a youngling too," Extractor said, "but how there could be a youngling without the Cube I don't understand." Extractor was a green and black mech with an abundance of spikes on his arms and back, but his hands also transformed into tools that could do delicate work.

"When Optimus Prime out the Cube in his spark, he had a dying youngling human in his hand. The spark went into the human. I found out after I made him my pet, two vorns later."

There was the usual shock and disgust over a human being the shell. "Why haven't you moved the spark?" was the general question.

"The spark is too weak to survive a transfer yet," Soundwave said in his cold voice. "Since we found him and have taken proper care of him, the spark has strengthened. We have been training him, and he is learning well. The spark will be ready to transfer into a proper shell by the end of the vorn."

"A youngling, after all these vorns," the mechs marveled.

"An Autobot spy took my youngling," Megatron spat, "and I want him back."

"Be glad the Autobots have him and not our  _beloved_ ," he drawled the word out, "leader. He hates humans as much as he hates you and the Autobots."

"I also want my humans back. They take time and resources to raise, but they're natives to Earth and they work well there."

"You can have them. I don't like dealing with the fleshbags. They die too easy. I can make drones to do the mining as well as the humans do, but our  _beloved_ leader wanted to hoard the metal for when we took over Cybertron. Well, when I see the All-Spark restoring our ruined world, I'll believe he can do it, and not before. You take him out, most of us will cheer. "

This time Megatron showed some mercy. "First, you will show me where the mines are, and where the space bridge is. If your leader returns before I find him, contact me at once, and stay out of my way when I come to deal with him. If my youngling comes, contact me and take good care of him until I arrive. In return, I will open trade for the drones and the metal to make our repairs. I will consider you part of my empire and allow you to run your own affairs within reason. Steal from me again, and you will work in my energon mines on Earth and treated the way Swindle treats his humans. " The Decepticon leader was pleased that they looked subdued.

"That is fair. I'm willing to try that. I think the others will, or they'll leave," Extractor said. That was good enough for Megatron. He had other matters on his mind. Taking two mechs with him as guides, he left.

When he was gone, the mechs conferred with each other. "He's changed for the better," they agreed. "We're better off with him that our _beloved_  leader-that one would have killed us all! If he takes down our  _beloved_  leader and lets us use our ore for drones and trade, we'll be better off." They intended to sell to the Autobots , but saw no reason to tell Megatron.

One of the mechs leading Megatron to the mines volunteered, a Seeker called Skytearer. Megatron wondered why until Skytearer told him, "Be grateful the youngling was taken by the Autobots and not our leader. He hates the humans almost as much as he hates you or the Autobots. He killed the one who came back with Swindle for not bringing the youngling with him. He also told us you were dead."

Megatron hissed. "He tried. So now I know that he and not the Autobots poisoned me. I will kill that traitor. If he so much as touches my youngling, I will do it slowly. "

"Good. Until he is dead, your youngling is not safe. He has some kind of plan that involves him. I will not see a young spark with any frame harmed for his twisted schemes. Our  _beloved_  leader," Skytearer spat, "does not know that we sell the humans who are about to die to the Autobots instead of stealing. He likes to think they are dying. He doesn't use humans in the mines because they're cheaper. In the end the cost would be the same. He uses them because he hates them. If we didn't sell them when they started getting weak, we'd never recover the cost. So we made a deal with the Autobots. They set aside what we ask for in one of their warehouses, and we pretend we're stealing it. Then we pretend to space the humans, and they pick them up. One of their kind is good at holograms, it fools our  _beloved_  leader every time. " He projected the time and route to the mines. "He's there now."

"Good," Megatron growled.

But when they arrived, they found a battle raging.

TRTR

When Sam woke up, Ratchet put him back in the box. Sam used the waste disposal, and got a drink before whining to get out. According to the datapad, he was up just a little earlier than the humans in the compound generally got up. "How am I supposed to get any work done without worrying about stepping on you?" Ratchet asked him, exasperated.

_I can go to the human compound_ , Sam told him promptly.  _It's about the time they get up, and I've been cooking for everyone. I can go to work with them, if you want me to. I've done a lot of farming._

"Someone has to keep an eye on you until we catch Swindle." Sam sighed and gave Ratchet a mournful look, the full "puppy dog eyes" treatment. It worked as well on Ratchet as it did on the supervisors and other Decepticons who did not see Sam very often. "Oh, all right, I'll take you." But as he picked Sam up, another mech appeared. Sam clutched at Ratchet's hand until he saw the Autobot symbol. Then he went from outright fear to wariness.

"Whoa, little fellow, no need to be scared of me. The other humans asked me to check on you yesterday, but by the time I got here, you were asleep." He smiled as Sam relaxed. "I'm one of the supervisors of the hydroponics farm." Sam pointed to the datapad and offered to help. Beachcomber looked from the human to the datapad in shock. "Cybertronian? Where did you learn Cybertronian? When did you learn to use a datapad? No human I met even knows how to write their own language, much less ours."

Ratchet sighed. "If you'll take Sam to the human compound long enough for him to get something to eat, he can tell you when you bring him back. Someone has to watch him until we find Swindle. "

"Sure thing. Come on, little one, let's get you fueled up." Beachcomber took Sam to the compound, where he was enthusiastically greeted by the other humans and hastily shoved into the kitchen. Brisk was stirring oatmeal and looking harried. She shoved the spoon at Sam in relief. He dragooned the first two people who came looking for breakfast into helping him while he hunted for something to flavor the oatmeal. He found dried fruit and added it. He got his own bowl and ate with them. Everyone washed their own dishes; Sam cleaned the oatmeal pan.

To his surprise, Beachcomber propped the ceiling up and chatted with everyone while they ate. While Sam cleaned the pan, the blue and gray mech said, "Why is Swindle targeting you, little one?" Sam held up his head and pointed to the scar on his neck. "What's this?" Sam felt the faint tingle of a scan. "Who did that to you? Swindle? Megatron or one of the Decepticons?"

Sam shook his head, before dipping his hand in the wash water and writing.  _When I woke up on Optimus Prime's chassis, I had this scar and my hair started turning white._

"Something tells me you have a long story to tell." Sam nodded and emptied the wash water into the drain, dried the pan, and turned to Beachcomber, only to bolt for the nearest door. Beachcomber turned sharply, just in time to knock Swindle's gun up. Making sure the children and caretakers were all right, if frightened, Sam sent one of the caretakers to get help and raced to the noise. The two mechs battled, but Beachcomber managed to hold onto Swindle's gun and get them away from the human compound as they struggled. Swindle fought desperately, but within moments Streetwise raced up and joined the fight soon followed by another mech.  Sam heard the pounding of metal feet and flattened against the wall. The movement caught Swindle's eye; with a quick twist, he managed to get one shot off before he was buried under bodies and forced into stasis.

Sam felt the blast as a violent push more than he felt pain. The next thing he knew, he lay on the floor, and the pain hit. "This is bad," he heard the unknown Autobot say. "Give him to me; I need to get him to the med bay. Call Jetfire." He held the hand that Sam was in against his chest to keep him steady. "It's all right, little one, I'll have you at the med bay in just a moment and we'll get you fixed up." Sam closed his eyes and focused on the pulsing of the spark. Soon he could feel the familiar drifting he got when he was badly injured.

Then he heard Ratchet, "What happened?" and a sound of cloth cutting. Something stabbed him in several places, moving quickly. Sam's eyes jerked open and he whined in pain.

"This will numb the pain so I can seal the bleeding, Sam." It was the mech who carried him into the med bay. Sure enough, the areas were getting numb; he welcomed the relief.

"Do that, First Aid." Sam made a tremendous effort against the drifting and turned to see Jetfire coming in. "Then clean him up, wrap him in something warm and soft, and put him to bed. If I remember correctly, he'll be almost completely healed when he wakes up."

"But he's got internal injuries-" another bot said, even as First Aid started work.

"Any other human would already be dying, Hoist. You and the others are going to get a rare opportunity and be able to monitor him while he heals. "First Aid finished his "sealing" and did a gentle cleaning before he scooped the human carefully into his hands and laid him on the bed. Sam felt the warmth of a blanket cover him. He closed his eyes and this time the drifting carried him into oblivion.

When Sam woke and dragged himself out of bed, he went immediately to the waste container and then to the water. "Ah, awake at last. How are you feeling, Sam?" Looking up, he saw First Aid. Looking around, he saw that he was in the clear box again, but the box sat on one of the berths.

_Sore and cold,_  Sam wrote, as he went to the blanket to wrap around him.

"Let me look at you." He put down a hand, palm flat, and Sam climbed on a little stiffly. He could feel the scan begin as First Aid laid him on the table. As the medical bot examined him, Sam saw several red marks and lines. "You were cut up pretty badly from debris, and some of your internal organs were damaged from the blast," he said as he finished and let Sam wrap himself in the blanket. "I think you need to stay quiet today. I'll ask someone to bring you some clothes from the human compound."

Sam made no objection when First Aid put him back in the box. He got some of the ration and curled into the blanket to think. Up until now, he accepted that the reason for his healing and his long life was the effect of his spark on a human body. Now he wondered. Bots had sparks, but they had to be repaired after being badly injured. The Autobots came for him; Swindle came after him. Why? He had no idea what to do until he got that information. He felt stiff and sore and painfully homesick. He knew he was being stupid. Here he was not a slave or a pet. He could choose what he wanted to do with his life; he could probably choose to stay human until he was ready for a Cybertronian shell. He could spend time with the other humans when he wanted.

But he missed Earth. He missed the sight of the sky and landscape, the smell of real air, and the sounds that came with being on a planet. He missed his apartment, and the conveniences made for him. He missed feeling like he was making a difference for the humans on Earth. Not since he was seventeen and learning to help on his uncle's farm did he feel as useless as he did now. Worse of all, like a constant nagging ache in his chest, he missed Megatron. He kept listening for the heavy familiar tread of his feet and the gruff voice that softened only for him; he kept looking for the gray bulk of metal or the red optics looking for him; he waited to be picked up by the huge hands that held him or the strong holoform hands that stroked him for comfort and for pleasure.

He was not even aware that he was crying until Jetfire said," Sam, are you in pain?" The human jerked upright and hastily wiped at his face. He felt another scan like a light tingling, before Jetfire picked him up and cradled him to over his spark. As usual, the thrumming and the warmth soothed him. He closed his eyes and soaked in the comfort of a familiar presence, even if it was not the one craved.

"In some ways he is like a youngling, isn't he? Calmed by the sense of another spark. " First Aid said softly. Sam opened his eyes and stirred. "Ah, you're awake. Do you want to get dressed or just go back to sleep?"

_Dressed,_  Sam wrote on Jetfire. The Seeker set him down and pulled clothes from subspace. Sam slipped on the comfortable outfit. He made the writing motion. Jetfire pulled a datapad from subspace, and Sam recognized the broken one he used for his private musings. His heart stated to slam.

"Since you're awake, we wanted to talk to you," the medic went on. "Hound and Bumblebee told us that you fell through Hound's holo projection, but instead of revealing them, you covered for them. Mirage told us that you knew he was there, but distracted Megatron and then told him where Ratchet was. You told him to leave you as you feared there would be a reprisal on humans if Megatron thought you left him willingly." Sam nodded. "And you asked him if he enjoyed the show." Sam looked away. "There's nothing for you to be ashamed of, Sam. We just have some questions." Sam folded the blanket and sat on it. Jetfire put the datapad down by him.

"First, did anyone rape you?" First Aid asked.

_What Mirage saw was not rape,_ Sam told them _. When Megatron found I had a spark, he started limiting my contact with other humans. When I asked to visit Jetfire more often, or if the Constructicons could bring their pets by the way they used to, he said I had to learn to be Cybertronian._

"He was hoping to strengthen the spark," Jetfire said thoughtfully. "I remember him giving the order when I started giving Sam history lessons. Go on, youngling."

_The next day was the one where he caught Swindle. I had a nightmare, and woke up._ He told them what happened from there.  _I never had any interest in sex with anyone after Mission City. I had no idea I could experience that kind of pleasure until- well. I tried to keep from responding the next time but that didn't work, and after that I wanted more. He was always easy, never rough, and it never went further than touch._

First Aid thought after reading the datapad. "How do you feel about Megatron, Sam?"

Sam thought for a while. Finally he wrote _, I'm conflicted. He destroyed most of my race out of revenge. He enslaved the rest, including me. But since he took me as a pet-he's been good to me from the beginning, once he learned how to handle a human. He only physically punished me once, and he felt so bad he never did it again. That was when I exposed Helix's stealing._

"No one had any idea how extensive the black market was getting until Sam exposed the tip of the iceberg," Jetfire said. "He almost beat Sam to death for embarrassing him before he found out, but after that, the reforms started."

_We've been able to prove to him and the sensible Decepticons that better treatment of the slaves results in saving resources. The ones who can't or won't make the changes don't work with humans anymore. I didn't want to leave because as long as I'm there I can keep trying to improve my race's lives,_ Sam said. A tear fell, and he swiped at it angrily.  _I've been with him for several human lifetimes. I'm homesick, and I miss him. I want to go home. And I don't even know if he'll let me come home._

"Why did you help me and Bumblebee?" Ratchet asked from the doorway. He was radiating fury, fingering the wrench in his hand. Sam's shoulder slumped. He should have known the Autobots would react like this.

_I owed you. If you hadn't fought with Optimus Prime, Megatron probably would have destroyed the whole human race. I tried, Ratchet. What more could I have done that day?_

Ratchet read that, and stopped fingering the wrench. He glanced at First Aid and Jetfire, who glared at the recent rescued medic, and the anger melted away. "Considering that you died, you gave everything you had. Only a miracle could have saved us that day." He put the wrench on the berth and stroked Sam's back gently. "There's someone else that's here to speak to you." He turned to the door. "Meet Maximus Prime, Sam."

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I tried to find another villain but I hate Sentinel and love killing him.


	9. Chapter 9

Megatron saw the traitor and the new Prime fighting. Maximus Prime held his own, but the traitor's experience and larger size balanced the edge that the Matrix of Leadership and battle skills gave Maximus.

He watched as the ship approached, holding on to his temper and his weapons by a bare edge. This traitor tried to usurp his leadership, tried to poison him, wanted his Sam, and the ship was not approaching fast enough. He stood by the hatch, and the moment he was close enough, he jumped to the surface. "Face me, traitor!" he roared.

"I cannot be a traitor to the one who tore Cybertron to shreds!" Sentinel Prime roared. Megatron leaped back just in time to avoid the sword that moved toward him with lightning speed. The Decepticon leader stepped up and swiftly knocked up the shot that would have rusted him to pieces in moments.

"We had an agreement. We would find a suitable planet and use its resources to restore Cybertron together, the factions healed. And you turned on me just as you did on Optimus!" Megatron struck, but missed, and howled as the sword sliced into his leg. "You took the space bridge components that were with you, the ones you controlled!" The wound hurt, but he could still move on the leg.

"Ironhide took me and them to this upstart who calls himself a Prime before I was revived!" Sentinel growled. He whirled at Maximus and fired. "After I set up the bridge, they destroyed the component I controlled, the one that was for me alone to control! He allowed those upstart scientists to alter my device."

Maximus came under the shot and slammed his sword at Sentinel's chassis, but the older Prime twisted; the blow went into the shoulder of the arm that wielded the rust gun instead. "I offered the Matrix of Leadership to you, wanting only to go back to being another soldier, and you pretended to refuse it. You knew it would never accept you. Then you tried to bring Earth to Cybertron. It would have killed more than half of the human beings on the planet. "

"Upstart! Fool! They are organics. We are gods compared to them, and gods use lesser being as they need. I have gathered resources to restore our planet!" Sentinel howled. "All I need is the one who holds the rest of the All-Spark! Then we use the resources and slaves from Earth and the mines to rebuild! Why will you not work with me?" He swung at Maximus, but this time Megatron blocked the thrust as Maximus tried to maneuver. In a quick twist, Sentinel avoided them both. 

"Without warning, the planet shift from Earth coming here could have killed or hurt many of my Decepticons as well as the humans," Megatron snarled behind him. "And without the All-Spark, what good would it have done? Our planet is dead without it!" He fired, but Sentinel dodged, missing the shot he made at Maximus when he did.

"All I need is the one who holds the All-Spark, but that fool Swindle failed me," Sentinel snarled.

"I have seen how you deal with both humans and our own now!" Maximus hissed back. "You cannot tear everything else in the universe down for your own power and say it is for the good of Cybertron. Our world was not built on hatred and theft, and it will not be rebuilt on it. Optimus knew that; I know that; and even Megatron is learning!"

"I think I'm insulted," the Decepticon leader grunted as he fired at Sentinel. This time the shot struck true, and Sentinel went down, his chassis smoking. Maximus stepped forward and drove his sword into the spark of the one who betrayed all of them and said it was for Cybertron's sake.

The two left standing looked at each other over the body of Sentinel, once Prime, forever condemned to be seen as another Fallen. "So," Megatron finally said, "you found the Matrix and it forced you into acknowledging that you were a Prime. Miracles will never cease." He knew that Ultra Magnus could have become Prime before the war began and stepped aside (Stepped? Dove out of sight, hid, practically shoved the other candidate in front of him) to allow (force) Orion to become Optimus Prime. "Where is my youngling?"

"Sam is safe," the Prime said calmly. Megatron saw Ironhide and other Autobots approach. "Get the humans to the ship and start their care," Maximus said to them. "We need to talk, Megatron."

"I want Sam back." He knew his troops gathered behind him. "I want my humans back. Sentinel bought them from Swindle, who took them from Earth. "

"Sam is a youngling for a Cybertronian but has lived several times a normal human lifetime. He is able to make his own choices. The humans here are not on Earth and so are no longer property. They can choose to go home or work with us. " The Prime regarded his former ultimate enemy calmly, ready to fight but clearly preferring to negotiate. Becoming Prime  changed more than the former Ultra Magnus' name.

Megatron considered. He had a ship full of his best fighting troop, but so did Maximus. They help Sam. From the report that Extractor and Skytearer gave, the humans needed medical help he was poorly equipped to give. "I want my youngling back. I want to know more about this one who supposedly hold the rest of the All-Spark." His leg hurt.

"We need to talk," Maximus Prime repeated. "I will give you safe-conduct onto the new  _Ark_ to discuss the matter." Megatron considered, and accepted. They brokered an temporary truce to allow Megatron's ships to follow and to get his wounded medical care.  Maximus Prime went to his base as Megatron endured his repairs. 

TRTR

Sam knew as soon as he saw Maximus that this was a Prime. There was no question in his mind. He knew, without having any way to qualify how he knew. The mech in front of him reminded him so much of Optimus it hurt. "Hello, little one," the Prime said gently and approached. He held out his hand, palm down, and Sam moved into it without hesitation. With the other hand, the Prime picked up the datapad and said, "I need to speak to Sam. I will contact you if he needs anything."

Just then a blue mech tore into the med bay. "First Aid, Ratchet, I need help!" He carried two humans flat in his hands. "We have about twenty humans in serious condition here. I've done what I can-"Behind him Ironhide, and other mechs crowded, all holding humans.

"Triage them, Sam-"Jetfire stopped, remembering who held Sam. Instead he pointed at the berth. "Com Beachcomber and ask him to bring my people who are trained in medical care. They can help."

Sam looked at Maximus and pointed to the berth. Maximus put him down, and Sam pointed at the datapad.  _Please let me help._  Maximus nodded and got out of the way. He watched as Sam waved at Jetfire and asked him via the datapad to bring supplies including water and clean rags. Then he went to the first human on his side, as First Aid started on the other. He looked after Ratchet when the rescued medic backed away.

"I have no training in humans," Ratchet admitted. "I was not allowed out of the med bay on Earth." 

"We have an adequate med bay on the ship, and no mortal injuries," Maximus told him. "You can treat our own there until the humans are dealt with. They don't trust Hook. " Ratchet nodded and left. Hoist came in, loaded with more wounded humans. Beachcomber followed him with four of Jetfire's villagers on his arms. They carried supplies. Sam typed on the datapad and moved to another human. Jetfire read the datapad as the mute human went from one to another of the wounded. Some he called First Aid or Hoist's attention to; others he left to the humans' administrations. When Sam finished triage, he asked to go to the human quarters to make medicine, but First Aid sent a databurst to the datapad instead and placed a medicine kit on the berth. At one point the sparked human became aware of Maximus Prime's attention, but dismissed it to focus on the abused humans in front of him.

Hours later, they finished treating the last human. Mechs carried the lesser wounded to the human compound, for the trained humans to care for; the five who were stable but still in poor condition slept on the berth. Sam found he was exhausted, and asked to go to the human compound to clean up and eat. Maximus held out his hand again. Sam climbed on, dragging the datapad with him. Maximus waited outside the human compound as Sam cleaned up and changed his filthy clothes. There was soup and flatbread in the kitchen; Sam inhaled one bowl. As he was getting seconds, Brisk came in.

"Beachcomber tells me that he has often seen humans from the space mines but they were in worse condition this time," she said soberly. "Swindle," she hissed the name, "sold these to a large angry mech to work in mines. They said the great one and another large master killed the angry mech together and then spoke." She hesitated. "I think they meant your master," she added softly.

Sam put his bowl down for a moment. She watched as he considered that news; then he swallowed the rest of the soup, and washed his bowl. Getting up stiffly, he walked out of the compound to where Maximus waited. The Prime knelt and held out his hand again; Sam climbed on.

"I know that you are tired," Maximus said. "Do you need to rest?" He walked to a room with a berth and lay down. Sam climbed in his chest and settled where he could hear the throbbing of the spark. As usual, it soothed him. Maximus made a direct connection to the datapad so they could both relax.

_I won't be able to sleep until we've talked. They told me that Megatron killed an angry mech with you_ , Sam wrote.

"He is demanding that you return," Maximus said. Relief flowed through Sam. Megatron wanted him back. "I have never seen Megatron show concern for any other mech the way he does for you, except the one he once called brother."

_Optimus?_  Sam asked.

"Yes. Before the war came, they were close. They wanted reforms; they could not agree on the means. That tore them apart. Megatron could not forgive Optimus when he would not join him. That was before Optimus became Prime, when he was Orion Pax. After that, Megatron was worse. He wanted to be Prime. Primes are born, not made, but he did not want to believe that."

_So he had never been truly happy, has he?_  Sam reflected on the datapad.  _Not until recently. He's been happier with me, I think, than he has for a long time. He got what he wanted and found it meant nothing to him. Then he discovered the black market and started the reforms. It's been slow, because he has to deal with the Decepticon mindset, but he's arranged it so the ones who are not cruel work with the humans. It makes a big difference. And in doing that work, he has been happier than any other time in his life, from what you tell me. Happier building than tearing down.  
_

"I noticed the change, "Maximus admitted. "Jetfire has been reporting to me almost from the beginning. "He sighed. "About the time that Optimus died, I found the Matrix. I could not refuse it when I discovered that Optimus was dead." Sam bowed his head. "Do not blame yourself for that, Sam. Ratchet and Bumblebee told me what happened. You were a youngling for a human; you died. You lived for vorns, as a slave and as long as a pet. I read Jetfire's files," Sam winced, "I know, but I was not in a position at the time to ask your permission. I needed the information, and not for the reason you might think. Sam, I know you have a spark. However, that does not explain why you heal; it does not explain why you have never died despite the abuse you suffered; nor does it explain the effect you have had on the Decepticons, once they discovered you had a spark and began caring for you."

_I agree,_  Sam told him.  _I've thought that for some time._

"Tell me what happened when you woke after Optimus died," Maximus asked.

Sam looked at him. Then he settled against the warmth of the Prime, shifted his mind down to memories from what felt like three or more lifetimes ago, and began to write _. Well, after the people moving through the wreck of the city for survivors found me, I could not talk and my hair started showing white at the roots right away._

He was found stumbling around the wreckage of Mission City after the battle. His parents died when Decepticons went after Sector Seven and destroyed the entire building and everyone in it. Uncle Spike and Aunt Carly came to the funeral, and took him home with them. Uncle Spike was older than his dad by quite a bit. Sam had cousins, but they were adults, finished with college and out busy with careers and family. Aunt Carly was a nurse, and his uncle was a mechanic, but they had several acres in the middle of a farming area. There were chickens and a few cows, fruit trees and a large vegetable garden, cats and dogs. There was a pond and a small stream lined with trees on the property. There was a wind turbine on the property and solar panels on the roof. The barn was sturdy.

Sam remembered how difficult the first few weeks were. After all, he was still mourning his parents and Optimus Prime. He was forced to learn sign language and how to use the hand-held voice replacement thing. He went from being a chatterbox to being very quiet, but he found that working with the animals and the garden soothed him, the way working with flowers and the yard used to sooth his parents. His uncle showed him how to hunt and to smoke wild bees for the honey, and his aunt liked to work with herbs and canned the overflow from the garden and trees.

Sam told them his fears about the Decepticons, and they used the money Sam inherited from his parents to become as self-supporting as possible. Spike built a tough car that ran on biofuel, and they got supplies to make it from what they could grow. They repaired the old windmill so it pumped water again. They got seeds for everything they could think of. They got books on every kind of reasonable survival skills. They did all of this quietly, without calling attention to what they were doing. Many of their neighbors were doing the same.

One of Sam's cousins, Walt, lived in Houston, working for the federal government in the space program. He and his family died when the Decepticons attacked Houston, part of their campaign to destroy all the major cities in the world. That brought their other child, Jennie, and her family home. They bought a nearby home with land and began setting up to survive as well. They raised goats and ducks instead of cows and chickens, and raised cotton instead of food crops in addition to their garden. Sam thought that was a lost cause until someone arrived that knew how to spin and weave. He was in shock that anyone actually knew how to do such things until Melissa confided that she learned both as a hobby. She also said working with cotton was a bitch and a half and advised them to get some sheep for wool. They did not, but a lovesick neighbor did, and she married him. By the time the country went completely to pot, there was a thriving community surrounding the Witwicky home that had what they needed to survive.

The fact that they lived out in the boondocks of a large Midwestern state saved them from Decepticon attacks, which centered on the large cities. At some point, freedom fighters arrived. By that time, his uncle and aunt  died. The fighters told him they needed him for support more than they needed another soldier and made an agreement with Sam and the other homesteaders; in return for bringing scarce but welcome supplies from the larger world when they left on their 'runs', they could stay, but they had to help out and defend the area as needed. Sam's farm was their base. When the fighters were too wounded or worn out to fight anymore, they married or brought families and found a place in the community.

In time, the Decepticons subdued the world. They were rebuilding Earth as they wanted it, but the mechs needed workers, and they discovered quickly that while this world was a treasure trove of raw material, it did not have enough of the kinds of metal they needed for drones and repairs. At first they scavenged both materials and feral human gangs as slaves from the broken remains of cities. But those humans needed food. Slowly, they hunted over more and more rural areas, looking for slaves and for the means to feed and clothe them, and as the supply of feral humans ran out, to breed them.

_We were one of the last to be taken_ , Sam wrote finally. He was getting sleepy, and nodding off. Maximus put him in the clear box on the bed. This time Sam was too tired to protest or even wonder why the Prime  moved the box to his quarters. He curled up and went to sleep.

When he woke and took care of his needs, he found the datapad with a note on it, "Please let me know when you wake." Sam considered. He was still in the box but on the berth. He threw the datapad out first, before he followed it out. Then he hunted for a way down. This was not a bare medbay berth; Sam found a way down and knocked the datapad down before he headed down himself. Once there, he slipped out of the door. He figured that something was going on, and he had no intention of tamely sitting around until the Prime chose to let him know what it was.

He stayed near the wall and kept his ears open. When he heard the sound of several mech voices, he slid up to the door and peeked in. Sure enough, there were several mechs with cubes and chatter going on throughout the room. He slipped in and crept along the wall to the most occupied table. "If I didn't hear it from Ratchet myself, I'd never believe it," one voice said. "A human, with a spark!"

"He healed from a direct shot from Swindle, Grapple," another said, and Sam recognized Beachcomber's voice. "Well, I'm off to the hydroponics farm. Jetfire's humans catch on quick; we'll be able to get the youngling humans to full-time teaching when we get to Cybertron. "

"Go on off to your organics," Grapple grumbled, "and I'll go plan another  _functional_  building. Did Prime locate the one holding the All-Spark yet? Maybe I'll get a chance to finally build something beautiful as well as functional..." The longing in his voice was unmistakable.

"I would love to build something besides weapons," another voice said wistfully.

"Come on, Wheeljack, you blew up your lab just as often as a civilian as you do now," Ratchet said, and everyone laughed." I'd like a chance to put some spark into shells and see a new spark come to life again. Even Megatron cherished his human youngling, and Starscream went berserk when he saw Sam in Mirage's arms."

"Sparklings," Bumblebee murmured, with distinct longing. Just them Sam heard a familiar step. He started moving, sliding along the walls, but the steps were getting closer. Desperate now, he abandoned secrecy and bolted for the door, dropping the datapad on his way. He heard conversations break off when someone heard the clatter of the datapad hitting the floor. "Hey, what was that-"

"Sam!" Ratchet shouted, but too late. Sam was out of the door and in the hall. The shout had the effect of getting the target of Sam's attention to stop and turn, however. Megatron stooped and Sam ran into his hands. Then he clung to the Decepticon's chest armor. Megatron cradled and crooned while Sam listened to the thrum that was as familiar as his own heartbeat. When the Decepticon leader looked up, Sam turned to see what he was glaring at, and was treated to the sight of several Autobots, Ratchet included, with their mouths hanging.

"What?" Megatron snarled, and the Autobots retreated. Bumblebee offered the datapad to Sam. Megatron took it with a muttered thanks and Bee retreated with a little dignity and slightly less speed than the others. Megatron began walking again, catching up with Prime.

"You are supposed to be in my quarters," Maximus Prime said sternly. "All you had to do was activate the datapad, and someone would have come for you." Sam shrugged. "However, you did save us a trip to my quarters to find you. This way." He led them to a comfortable room with a view of a planet with a moon. As soon as Megatron put Sam on a table, he ran to look out. But the more he looked, the more he could see the devastation on the planet below him. He went to the datapad.

_Cybertron?_  He asked.

"Yes, Sam," the Primes said heavily. "We have been able to repair some of the damage, in one of the cities. There are humans there now, working in several of the factories making parts for us."

"Swindle sold several of the sl-humans he took to mechs in space," Megatron said. "The Autobots have been taking in the ones they would have killed, trading them for supplies."

"When I took the Matrix," Maximus said, "I was told that the All-Spark is never destroyed. The energy can only be converted. I was told to find the one who holds the All-Spark, and bring him to the shard that remains to renew the Cube. I believe I have found him."

Sam caught on before Megatron did. He looked at the devastated planet below him, and back at the Prime.  _That's why I heal_ , he typed on the datapad.  _That's why I don't die, and why I have a spark._

"I think the spark is unique to you," Maximus said. "But the rest- yes. It explains why you feel the need to care for others, when you did not display that need before as a youngling. Why you felt fulfilled farming, then being Megatron's pet, and finally healing. The All-Spark changes those around it."

"No," Megatron said. "It would kill him." Sam stared out of the window, listening but taking in the extent of the destruction.

"You do not know that," Maximus said. "The transfer may or may not destroy Sam's human body. It will not kill the spark. You brought the shell, did you not?" Megatron nodded. " It would mean that the spark would go in sooner than you planned."

"Then it can wait until Sam's spark is strong enough for the transfer. That won't be until the end of the vorn," Megatron argued.

"And you will bring him back?" Maximus asked dryly, "or you will wait here, leaving Earth to its own devices? Soundwave can hold it for you that long?" Megatron looked down at Cybertron. "This means renewal for our home planet, Megatron. This means that your mechs can come here, bringing shells, and go home with sparklings. Provided they meet the parenting criteria, of course, but from what I hear, many will. It is not your choice. It is Sam's."

Megatron looked out of the window. Sam gave the Prime a steady look while his former master was distracted. "We need to discuss the matter," the Decepticon leader said. "Later. We have other matters to discuss."

Sam signaled Megatron that he had a human need to meet. Prime took him to the human compound. As they walked, Sam discussed the matter with Maximus. That evening, as promised, the Prime delivered Sam to Megatron in the guest quarters, with Sam's box. Sam expected to find Megatron with his polishes and other bath materials ready, and he was not disappointed. But Megatron brought Sam back to his berth, not the bed, after fetching a blanket. The holoform appeared on Megatron's chassis, as the mech's hands curled over them protectively, and almost as soon as it disappeared and Sam was feeling the spark glow in his chest, the holoform reappeared. It held Sam, saying, "You are mine," in desperation.

Sam stroked his cheek and wrote,  _Always_ , on the holoform. Then he asked,  _Are_ _ **you**_ _mine?_

"Always," the holoform murmured.

Later that night, as Megatron recharged deeply, Sam slipped into the hallway. Maximus was waiting. "Are you sure?" he asked. Sam nodded and went to his hand.

 


	10. Release of the All-Spark

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sam goes to release the All-Spark.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do not own Transformers, but I wish I did.

Unexpected Love Chapter Ten

Sam stood in a traveling version of the clear box. Maximus carried it to the ship. Ratchet and Ironhide left earlier to set up for the transfer. Hook, Jetfire, and Starscream waited, hopefully helping instead of arguing. Sam ask that they witness of for him as they were his teachers . Soundwave was needed on Earth.

Sam expected his human body to die tonight, though Maximus remained more optimistic. "It is very possible that you will simply begin to age like a normal human," the Prime said. "If so, then with care you could live to the end of the vorn, and go into the shell when the Decepticons expected you to."

Sam only shrugged.  _I have lived the equivalent of three and a half lifetimes of the humans in the era I was born in,_  he wrote _, about five of a pet's longest lives, and seven of a work slave's. There were times when I would have done anything to be put out of my misery, but to be honest, my earliest life and my later life has been good. If I die as a human, I have no regrets._

"We will see," the Prime said. "I will stand by the terms of our deal."

_I do understand why this is a terrible risk for you_ , Sam told him, knowing Megatron would go ballistic if his youngling died. The Prime would have to deal with that disaster. But from the moment he set eyes on the planet, something in him screamed to heal it the way only he could.  _But I hope we can avoid the corruption of the past, Prime. The old regime gave Megatron  and the Decepticons plenty of reasons to rebel. He took it way too far, don't get me wrong, but the corruption got him started._

"Should I say the same to you, when you begin rebuilding human society, Sam? "

_With all of you looking over our shoulders, knowing Megatron will take any chance he gets to take over again? Besides, before we can even start, we have to bring this generation out of  the slavery mindset that the Decepticons taught them. Then we educate the children so they can handle a democracy.  
_

Maximus picked up the box and began to walk toward the bridge of the ship. The box held his air.  On Cybertron the mech pumped breathable air the rooms where the transfer would take place.  "Megatron is not going to give up his empire, Sam."

_Why should he? But he always planned to expand into space, and with Sentinel Prime's bunch, he can. There are plenty of resources in space that no one is using. Earth will be a small part of his empire in a few vorns, and he'll leave the humans to me._

"And why should he do that?" Maximus strapped down the box. 

_If you haven't figured it out, I'm not going to tell you._

"I guessed when you demanded that Megatron be there when the data retrieval was completed and the final transfer was close. "He went to one knee to look at Sam. "You're bonded to him already, aren't you?"

_As close as you can come without a full spark merge. He admitted that, last night. He's as scared for himself as he is for me._ The ship's engines began to whine.

"As soon as Megatron wakes, I'll bring him. By that time, the process will be too far along to stop." He paused. "Ratchet is going to go over the risks with you, in front of the witnesses. If you have any doubts, voice them. You are in control. If you want the process to stop, it will stop. " Sam nodded, and the Prime left.

trtr

Megatron woke to find he was alone. When he left his room, he found Bumblebee. The yellow scout escorted him to a conference room, where Maximus Prime waited for him. Silently, Maximus handed him a cube of energon, taking another from the same stack for himself. "Where is Sam?" Megatron asked. Maximus told him, and why, before escorting Megatron to a ship. "He should have waited," Megatron said. "What difference would a few years make? The risk he's taking-"

"Ratchet has done the upgrade of shells many times, Megatron," Maximus told him. "He will explain the process to Sam, with Hook, Starscream, Ironhide, and Jetfire as witnesses."

"Jetfire," Megatron growled.

"Has done you and Cybertron as a whole a great service, out of his love for his humans," the Prime said, "or I would not be here talking to you now. Sam could only show you what was happening; Jetfire guided you, and gave you reasons to act as you did. " He paused. "Here are the conditions Sam gave me for completing the transfers."

Megatron sifted through the databurst. How well Sam knew him! "He is choosing to stay with me," Megatron said slowly.

"I did not expect that," Maximus said calmly. "I will emphasis to you as I did to Sam- if he chooses to become an Autobot, I will welcome him to my ranks. He does not. He wishes to be neutral until he is considered fully adult to both sides. He told me he hopes that by that time, there will be no more need to choose. He has no intention of leaving you."

"Unless he dies doing this."

"His human body may or may not survive. You know this. Ratchet and Hook tell me that his spark is strong enough for the transfer now."

"He is very strong," Megatron admitted. "It would have to be for a new spark to stay sane as a work slave. " He turned burning eyes to the Prime. "What have you done with Swindle?"

"He is in stasis. I want to execute him," the Prime said, and this time his voice was not calm.

"He's all yours," Megatron told him. His eyes moved to the viewscreen. "How much longer before we get there?" Then he roared out, "Why Sam?" Why did he have to give up the one being that he felt safe caring for? He took Sam as his pet to ease his loneliness, and his pet became his unexpected love. Sam took him from being a lonely, bitter tyrant to someone his men respected as a leader and not only because he was stronger. He thought he could love Sam with safety. How could he give him up?

"Not long. Ratchet finished the download. They are waiting for us." He turned suddenly intense blue optics to Megatron as they began their landing approach. "On landing, you will understand."

On the planet, Megatron looked at the devastation of their world with fresh eyes, and his simmering rage died. Anyone with a spark wanted what he wanted now, wanted what Sam's sacrifice of his human body, and perhaps his existence, would give them. He wanted to see this nearly dead planet alive again.

He never intended to give Sam his freedom. Megatron planned to spark- bond with the Cybertronian youngling as soon as his spark developed that far. He intended to bind Sam to him in every way possible. He believed that if Sam ever knew the Autobots still existed in any strength, he would go to them any way he could. Now he knew Sam would have stayed with him for love and for what good he could do for others as Megatron's bonded sparkmate. Sam chose him. He took comfort in that fact.

Megatron looked at the planet that their civil war tore to pieces, and knew that Sam made the right choice. Yes, it was worth giving up the human he loved, and risking losing the spark he desperately wanted to survive. Yes, it was worth risking that the youngling being created would choose to stay with the Autobots and reject him.

But it hurt. His spark ached.

"Sam is asking for you," the Prime said.

Trtr

Sam waited in the room for Megatron to appear. He could see the shard of the Cube that Ironhide took from Optimus Prime's chassis.

"Sam," Ratchet said, standing over the shell, "Megatron is coming. Before he gets here, I want to be sure that you don't want me to put some of these memories into text files. There is no need to subject a new youngling in a Cybertronian body to the abuse in these files. How you survived as strong and sane as you are I will never understand!"

Sam eyed the two resentful Decepticons on the other side of the room, but they did not explode. "I agree," Starscream said. "You will no longer be a human, Sam. You do not need the files at all. They can safely be deleted."

"No," Hook disagreed. "Sooner or later the new spark is going to wonder what happened in that vorn. That's not good for a new spark either. Ratchet's right, they can be turned into text files. That way he's have the information, but not the trauma." Ratchet gave him an approving look.

_You cannot hope to change the future unless you remember the past,_  Sam wrote patiently on the datapad they left in the room with him _. I have dealt with that pain as a human. Didn't all of you tell me that the person I am won't change, just the form? Or were you lying to make me feel better?_

Jetfire intervened between the two factions, as he had all day. "No, Sam, no one lied to you about that. But as a spark you are still only a toddler in our eyes."

_I am the oldest human that has ever lived_ , Sam corrected.  _That means that I should come across as an adult needing to learn a new body, but not an idiot or a child. No, Ratchet. Leave the files alone, just as they are._  He shifted restlessly. He knew for certain now that the Prime was correct. Part of him wailed to go to that piece of material, to be completed. His spark throbbed so strongly that his chest hurt.

He looked at his body dispassionately.Today he would lose this body. He would never taste the sweetness of honey or the bite of chili pepper, or the relief of cool water sliding down his throat. He would not appreciate the soft feeling of silk beneath his fingers, or the gentle fingers of a lover over soft skin, or the sweet completion of a human orgasm. He would not enjoy the relaxation of being in warm water, or the joy of sliding through cool water while swimming. He looked over at the grey shell that waited for him. That body will still have feelings, he reminded himself. My new body will still smell, still touch, still need energon, still be alive in its own way. If what the four before him told him was correct, he could experience all the memories by calling up a file. Was he afraid to die as a human? he asked himself. What about all those times when you would have given anything to end your existence?

I am afraid of giving up the only life I have ever known, he acknowledged to his inner self. But I want this planet to live again. The Cybertronians left will never forget what they did to their planet. They will cherish Cybertron now, and teach their younglings to cherish it when they share these memories. I will not forget what it is like to live in despair, he vowed. I will not forget what it was like to be human and afraid. I will not.

He saw the feverish hope in the optics of the ones in front of him. He remembered the talk in the recreation room. He was doing the right thing, and he knew it.

Then he heard familiar footsteps. He pressed against the clear exterior of the chamber of the All-Spark shard for the last look at his master/lover/ love with human eyes.

Trtr

Megatron saw Sam looking for him from the chamber-shrine, he thought, looking at the place. It was full of artistic material scavenged from the old temples. He recognized most of it.

He thought his spark ached before; now it was agony. Sam was calm, but he knew his youngling- he was afraid as well. Megatron reached the partition.

"Don't go in," Ratchet said swiftly. "You'll let his air out."

Megatron gave him a nasty look. Then his holoform appeared in the chamber. Sam latched onto it. Megatron held him. It took all his iron will to let go and step back. "I'll stay with you until it's over," he said. Sam reached out and touched his cheek. Then he pointed out, firmly. Megatron understood, and the holoform was gone. Maximus drew him back. 

Sam turned, and walked over to the shard. He put his hand on it. The light flared. Everyone dimmed their optic sensitivity to keep watching. The glow flowed over the human body, lighting it from within. Slowly, that bright white light got stronger, as Sam's body faded and the shard grew. Watching, Megatron keened with Hook, Startscream and Jetfire. They knew now they lost their youngling. Even knowing he would be reborn did not make that loss easier. Ratchet and Ironhide  watched in awe.

The Prime gazed transfixed. "Primus," he whispered. "So beautiful! The release-" He felt it, the joy of something being released from a long, long captivity. Strangely, he felt two releases, not one. As the body almost completely faded, there a clear form with a glow inside it remained behind. The form slid toward Ratchet and Hook where they stood by the shell. Ratchet opened the door and the form slipped through the shell, leaving the glow behind.

Megatron was already moving, but the form flowed to him. He felt what was left of Sam as a human, not on his chassis but in his spark. "I'm free, to go where humans do when they die" the glow  told him, and joy coursed through both of them. "I will see Optimus again. Take care of the other me, Megatron." His spark soothed, the form left him, going  to touch everyone else for one moment before it was gone.

Then he heard a cry, and saw the shell move. Ratchet and Hook helped the new youngling sit up. The new Cybertronian looked around, terrified. When he saw Megatron, he whimpered and reached. Megatron shoved the Prime aside and ran, taking the trembling new youngling into his arms and holding him tightly before helping him stand.

"What is your designation?" the Prime asked him.

"Changeling," Sam said, and they all jumped in surprise. He laughed, and they smiled at the sound. "I am Changeling."

Then he turned to look at the other room. The Cube floated there, still glowing.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The last chapter is an epilogue


	11. Epilogue: New Beginnings

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do not own Transformer except in my daydreams.

Megatron stood on the bridge of the Mission and watched as Earth receded. "Are you all right?' he asked the black and gold Cybertronian in his arms.

Changeling reached up and touched Megatron's cheek reassuringly, without taking his eyes from the screen. "I think so," he said. "It's hard, leaving, but it's time. Ready or not, they're on their own now." The ceremonies inducting a human-run Earth as a full member of the Alliance ended today.

"I never thought this day would come," Megatron admitted, as the blue and white pebble grew smaller and smaller. "But you proved me wrong."

"Like it was easy," Changeling said, looking up again, and smiling. "We fought about it often enough."

"Don't remind me," Megatron said with feeling. Remembering-

_Two days after the transfer, when Ironhide and other Autobots objected to the new youngling going to Earth with the Decepticons:_

"You promised Sam I would stay with Megatron!" shrilled the youngling at the top of his excellent vocal processor to Maximus Prime, as the Decepticon leader and several Autobots winced. As he spoke, he writhed in Ironhide's grip and kicked that worthy sideways in the knee. To the shock of all the gathered mechs, the experienced warrior went down as the youngling twisted from his grip and ran to Megatron's waiting arms. "I'm going  _home_!"

_Two vorns later, after Megatron and the Decepticons find that the youngling's development-and emotions-are about the same as the human teenager Sam was when he absorbed the spark and the All-Spark:_

"How does he get  _out_?" Starscream screeched, as all of them searched for the defiant youngling. "The doors were locked, the viewscreens were on, and still the next moment we look he's gone!"

"With a note that he'll come back when he's ready," Frenzy grumbled below him. "And this just when we find out those human engineers disappeared from the old factory site where they were going to set up that new equipment. Just like that brat to show out when we don't know what's out there."

"Help! Somebody help me-" Changeling's terror came over the com loud and clear, along with his coordinates. Starscream put on a burst of speed, getting there just before Megatron. The Decepticon leader found the flyer strafing a group of mechs, some who were firing back while others were hammering at something in a cliff face. Megatron transformed and waded in; soon after the would-be kidnappers sat off-lined or bound while a badly shaken Changeling and the missing engineers came out of the mine shaft. Changeling just barely managed to move, having exhausted even his reserves holding a  door over the opening.

The humans sang his praises. "Those mechs said something about needing us to work on some kind of machinery on another planet. Something about a fallen, but they didn't say a fallen what and they sure as hell didn't encourage questions. Then they brought in your youngster there." Together they  escaped their captors as they brought down a shuttle. "I don't know how he kept them from breaking down that door," the lead engineer said, swaying from exhaustion as he spoke, "but I'm glad he did. The threats they were making-"

Megatron summoned transport and sent them to their assignment, this time with guards. He took Changeling to Hook. "You've worn yourself out and came close to burning out some of your circuitry," he said, "but some energon and a good recharge will set you straight. " He handed Changeling a cube. Changeling barely managed to finish it before he went into recharge. "What was he doing to wear himself out like that?"

"Reinforcing a closed off mine shaft they were hiding in. I know now how he keeps getting out," Megatron said.

Hook gave him a sharp glance. "How, Master?"

"He's got the same powers as the Fallen."

Hook looked at his master, then at the recharging Changeling. "The ability to move things with his mind, or the space bridge?"

"Moving things. The space bridge was a special modification. "Hook opened his mouth and then shut it.  It was a Prime power. The thought made Hook shake his head in wonder as Megatron left to deal with the would-be kidnappers. Who would have thought their once-human youngling could have Prime potential?

_A few vorns later, Megatron left Changeling on Earth while he went back and forth making arrangements for the space colonies, returning every few years to rest. While he acknowledged that Changeling was no longer a youngling, the newly installed Lord Protector of the New Alliance still did not want his beloved Changleing exposed at length to the dangers of space. He never wondered why Changeling made no objection.  He thought Soundwave and Starscream ran Earth between them while they dealt with both Cybertron and the other mining in the asteroids and planets of Earth's solar system. Changeling stayed on Earth. At some point both of them realized that the relationship evolved from mentor and youngling. They moved into closeness, and then into intimacy._

_Then Megatron stayed for longer than a month and found that Changeling ran Earth, putting humans into more and more leadership positions as mechs went to space, or to Cybertron, or to the Moon. Changeling insisted that the humans were educated enough, and that their society was mature enough, that they would achieve self-rule within a short time._

"All right, I'll make you a deal. It's going to take two vorns for the space bridge to be finished. You have until I get back. If they aren't ready by then, Earth stays a client planet under my jurisdiction. If two out of three of us- me, Maximus Prime, and Rodimus- agree that Earth is independent, each of us deciding without consulting the others, then I'll petition the Council myself for making Earth a full member."

"We'll be ready."

"But no matter what, when I return, whether Earth is ready or not, you go to Cybertron for training. You've put it off too long already."

"All right. I accept the challenge." He offered his hand in the old human gesture that most species used now to seal an informal deal. Megatron shook his hand before yanking Changeling to him. A few moment later he held the eager challenger back. "And by that time you should have done some exploring and know your mind."

_Two vorns after the challenge:_

"He was well when you last saw him?"

"Yes, Master. We have both received regular updates. In addition, several of the Autobots and some colonists have gone by. He stayed very busy."

"It's taking too long," Megatron muttered, watching as the white and blue pebble grew in his viewscreen.

"Are we there yet?" pipped up a shrill sparkling's voice, and a small form darted in. He jumped up to see the screen better. Megatron picked him up. "How much longer? I want to see Changeling!"

"It's going to be some time yet, Rogue," Starscream said in a long-suffering voice. "Come on, let's find those puzzles he sent you." The flyer carried his sparkling out.

"Master, Maximus wishes to speak to you," Soundwave said to his master via com. Megatron went to the bridge.

"What is it?" he growled to Maximus Prime. If the Lord Protector wanted proof that the Space Bridge was working, he now had it. Maximus transmitted from Terra, a new human world. He visited frequently to supervise Rodimus, the Prime in training that acted as the Cybertronian liaison.  The industries using human labot moved with them. 

"I wanted to tell you that I have been by Earth recently and I believe you will be pleasantly surprised. I was," the Prime told him. Maximus barely managed to hold on to his amusement.  "Rodimus went by before I did, and he was excited. I won't say more. Tell Changeling to contact me when you make your decision."

"I'll be bringing him to Cybertron before too much longer, either way," Megatron reminded him.

"Please pass on my message anyway," the Prime requested. Megatron agreed grumpily, and went back to watching Earth grow in his viewscreen.

"Master, we have contact from Earth," Soundwave said soon after, surprised.

"Put it on," Megatron said, his excitement rising. His hopes were replaced by surprise when he saw a human in a black and gold uniform on the screen.

"Greetings to the Lord Protector from the High Council of Earth," said the human admiral. The woman stood erect with a serene expression on her face. "I offer escort to Earth, either bringing your shuttle by tractor beam with us or with a coordinated flight plan if you wish to bring the ship with you to the Moon."

"Greetings to you and the High Council. I will bring the ship to the Moon and accept your escort from the Moon," Megatron said.

"As you wish, Lord Protector. Sending flight plan," she said and Soundwave acknowledged receipt. The viewscreen returned to showing space, where he saw  the three ships execute a perfect maneuver and lead them toward the Moon. Megatron sent a silent "Smartaft," thought to the Prime, who most assuredly was snickering in amusement at the thought of Megatron's surprise.

On reaching Earth, the Lord Protector was met by the Chief Counselor, who greeted him politely, and added, "I was asked to tell you, and I quote, 'I'll find you when you're amazed enough, ' unquote. In the meantime, I would be honored if the Lord Protector might accept a tour."

"Thank you, I accept." For the rest of the day, Megatron was escorted through the setup of a world government, the means by which Earth was fulfilling its obligations as a member of the Alliance, and how the resources of the Solar System and the planet were being handled. By the end of the tour, Megatron knew that the Prime, blast his nether parts to the Pit and back, was right. He was pleasantly surprised. At the end of the day, Megatron said, "I believe the one who left the message was correct in his assessment. I will want to do some investigating, but I am impressed. "

"Thank you. Your quarters have been maintained as you requested when you left, Lord Protector."

Megatron nodded and headed there. His first sight on opening the door was Changeling, who was sitting at his old desk. The black and gold mech smiled at him. Megatron drank in the sight of his beloved. At Changeling's final upgrade, he ended up about Bumblebee's size. "Well?" Earth's advisor to the High Council asked, as he came around the desk and into his lover's arms.

"All right, you can say it. I want to look around and make sure I'm not just seeing a façade, but if the setup is solid, they're ready. Maximus told me I'd be pleasantly surprised, and that Rodimus was excited."

"I told you so. Yes, they've already told me-separately- that Earth is ready. Both of them can't wait for me to get to Cybertron. Maximus wants, quote, 'those organizational skills' unquote, to work on the sparkling program, and Rodimus wants another Prime in training to take the attention off of him." Changeling pulled him into the next room and the washracks. The water started at the temperature Megatron liked, and he moaned.

"You have no idea how good that feels. The ships don't have washracks, just cleaning polish and rags." Changeling laughed and started washing the larger mech. "There are still those who have trouble believing the Cube marked Rodimus as a Prime potential," Megatron said. "No one's going to question your position, not after what happened with the Fallen-" He clutched at Changeling. "When I remember what that renegade tried to do to you, and you still a youngling-"

"Hush. He's gone to the Pit where he belongs, and I'm here." Megatron responded by putting him down and beginning the smaller mech's wash. Changeling leaned into the comfort. "You have another promise to keep. I've done what you asked. I went to Cybertron twice, and mechs have been through here steadily." He pulled back. "I know what I want. Do you?" The answer was not in words, but satisfactory just the same.

Over the next two weeks, as Changeling worked with the High Council on the petition to the Alliance for full membership status, Megatron toured Earth, both as a holoform human and as the Lord Protector. He found problems, but most were being handled. He made a full report to the High Council with recommendations, and told them he would present the petition on his arrival on Cybertron with Changeling. In the meantime, another advisor was on the way.

Rodimus arrived two days later. "Maximus said he hopes I do half as good a job as you did," he said. As Changeling went over the systems with him and introduced him to the administrators he would be dealing with, the Prime in training watched how the once-human mech interacted with Megatron. He looked forward to the reaction when Cybertron realized that their Lord Protector and the new Prime in training were bonded. On a quiet contact with Maximus, he dropped that news and waited for the reaction.

"Finally," Maximus said, sounding relieved. Then the Prime bent over laughing at the disappointed look on Rodimus' face. "They were bonded when Changeling was still Sam," he explained. "I knew it would happen. I just didn't think it would take this long." He grinned. "I'll send you a holo of the reaction when everyone else finds out. I'm looking forward to that myself."

_Two vorns later:_

Bumblebee and Ironhide met Changeling and Megatron as the new mentors came from the Temple of the All-Spark. Between them walked a new sparkling, looking around him in wonder with bright blue optics. The two mechs stopped and knelt to see the little one.

"Say hello, Orion," Changeling said.

 


End file.
